this is "nightline." >> tonight, it is the brutal blow caught on tape that cost nfl superstar ray rice his career, but not his wife. >> my wife is here. >> janay rice standing by her man. >> i love ray. >> now, with the why i stayed hash tag going viral, one former victim of domestic violence. >> physically abusive relationship. >> telling us here tonight what goes on behind closed doors in an abusive home. >> unless you've been through it yourself, there's no way you can relate to the feeling. plus, a spectacular announcement from afterle today. and our david muir was right there. >> how fun it is to send the first tweet ever from an apple watch. >> our exclusive look behind the scenes at the unveiling with ceo tim cook. it is the revolutionary technology fans hotly

anticipated. can the i-future possibly live up to the hype? and, is bono the new beyonce? apple wasn't the only one with a big announcement. tonight, how u2 almost upstaged the iphone 6 with a fan surprise of their own. but first -- the "nightline" five. >> when i crave a smoke, that's all i crave. that's where this comes in. >> only nicorette gum has patented duel-coated technology for great test. plus, it gives you intense craving relief. >> and that helps put my cravings in its place. that's why i use nicorette. number one, in just 60 seconds.

good evening. it is the video engulching a football star, his wife and the entire nfl in an emotional controversy tonight. the surveillance camera capturing ray rice of the baltimore ravens knocking his wife out in a hotel elevator. so, why is she standing by her husband and who is she blaming instead? here's abc's linsey davis. >> reporter: if dragging his fiance's limp body wasn't enough, this was the game-changer. ray rice with a brutal blow to his now wife's head in this video released yesterday by tmz of what happened inside the elevator between ray rice and his then-fiance janay palmer. during this press conference, only they knew what really happened inside that elevator. >> i failed miser bly, but i wouldn't call myself a failure. because i'm working my way back

up. >> we are continuing to strengthen our relationship and our marriage and do what we have to do. >> reporter: for months, we'd only seen this grainy video of rice pulling palmer off this atlantic city casino elevator on february 15th. and while we hadn't seen the moments leading up to it, the atlantic city police summons state what we didn't see. that rice caused bodily injury to janay palmer, specifically by striking her with his hand, rendering her unconscious. that same day, rice and palmer were both arrested, charged and released for what rice's attorney called a minor physical altercation. >> he never checked to see, is she okay? is she breathing? is she bleeding? >> reporter: while palm earl indicated she did not want to go forward with prosecution, on march 27th, rice is indicted on aggravated assault charges. the charges against her were dropped. the very next day, on march 28th, rice and palmer married. on may 1st, rice pleads not

guilty. and aflip pplies for a program first-time offenders that could clear him of charges in six months. >> prosecutor must have evaluated that the injuries were not from serious bodily injury. >> reporter: on may 23rd, we hear from rice for the first time since his arrest. >> i just wanted to thank her for doctor -- for loving me whes weak. >> reporter: janay, sitting at his side, apologizes. >> i deeply regret the role i played in the incident that night. i love ray. >> reporter: some critics called the press conference a sham. >> that, to me, was one of many indications that the ravens did not understand anything about domestic violence. you have a woman who has been battered. apologizing next to the man who has battered her and the optics of that were horrible. >> reporter: on july 24th, the nfl announces the penalty for rice. a two-game suspension for domestic violence.

>> there are consequences when you make a mistake like that. >> reporter: a firestorm erupts were critics chastising the nfl for giving rice a lesser punishment than the six-game suspension imposed on players caught using banned substances. >> you can't have a league that has an over 40% female fan base and say to them that marijuana use is more important to us than domestic violence. >> reporter: then, on august 28th, the nfl calls an audible. the league commissioner announcing a new domestic violence policy, making the punishment for assault, battery, domestic violence or sexual assault a mandatory six-game suspension. and just yesterday, after the video came out, ray rice, the face of the baltimore ravens, cut by the team and suspended from the nfl indefinitely. >> it's something we saw for the first time today. you know, all of us. and it changed things, of course. you know, it made things a little bit different. >> reporter: this after tmz released this video of what

happened inside the elevator. video the nfl claims they had never seen. but je mel hill is not buying it. >> this is the same nfl that when players are drafted into this league, they know what kind of cereal they have for br breakfast. so, you mean to tell me that the nfl couldn't exercise more influence than tmz? >> reporter: but the atlantic county prosecutor's office corroborates the story, telling abc news it is grand jury material. it would have been improper, in, illegal, to provide it to an outside, private, nonlaw enforcement entity. >> it sounded bad. the stories were bad. but it took the video to make everyone aware of just how awful it was. >> reporter: uproar about the video prompted rice's wife to break her silence this morning, via instagram, posting a message saying she woke up feeling like "i'm mourning the death of my closest friend."

she goes on to blame the immediamedia. she ends by saying they will continue to grow and show the world what real love is. >> we always want to talk about relationships, they are based on dignity and respect and there was -- that was not presence, neither of those things were present in that relationship. >> reporter: according to katie ray jones, victims often do love the abuser and focus on the fact that they aren't violent all the time. >> many women still see that man they fell in love with. on a regular basis. he's not abusive all the time. and there are moments where he is telling her he's going to change and things are going to be different. >> reporter: proof that what happened on this elevator is much more than a sports story. after all, we've seen this story before with others in the public eye. there was taylor armstrong, living in apparently perfect life as one of the housewives of beverly hills. behind the scenes, she admitted she had been hiding a secret. >> i was trapped in a physically

abusive relationship. >> reporter: these photos show the wounds she says she received from her then-husband, russell armstrong, who committed suicide soon after she filed for divorce. >> in my own personal case, it starts with yelling and you get grabbed by the throat or shoved down and it just escalates. >> reporter: armstrong says no one should be rushing to judge janay palmer. >> to be a victim is something that unless you've been through it yourself, there's no way you can relate to the feeling and to the back and forth and the roller coaster ride. i just -- would hope that someone that's close to her can lead her to someone who can help her make a smart decision for her and her family. >> reporter: domestic violence. but perhaps yesterday's about face shows the football league will no longer allow its players to get off easy. but hill argues, rice may still find a home in the nfl. >> there are players who have killed people that are in the nfl.

that have played in the nfl. at this point, it would be impossible to rule out a future in the nfl for him, because as awful and horrible as this was, he's not the only player in the nfl playing right now that assaulted his partner or wife. >> reporter: but for now, arguably one of the league's best running backs, sidelines. and not because he had a physical altercation with his wife, but because there's video of it. >> i'm so hopeful that this shows everybody what domestic violence really is. and i'm so hopeful this wakes people up. >> reporter: for "nightline," i'm linsey davis in new york. coming up next here on "nightline," apple's secrets revealed. abc's david muir with rare access behind the scenes at the blockbuster new technology launch today. our exclusive look, coming up next. (woman) the constipation and belly pain feel tight like a vise. how can i ease this pain? (man) when i can't go, it's like rocks piling up.

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the tech world and much of the broader world was transfixed once again today by apple. as the company unveiled its latest slate of hotly anticipated new products, but we were the only ones invited backstage for the big event, by apple's ceo himself. here's "world news tonight" anchor david muir. >> david! >> reporter: how are you? a high stakes day for apple. and we were there. for the exclusive first look behind the scenes at ceo tim cook unveiled apple's latest salvo in a high tech battle for supremacy. >> one more thing. >> reporter: just moments before cook unveiling the apple watch with a sleek video, celebrating

the bling and beauty of it all. the company's first brand new product in the four years. >> today, we are launching the biggest advancement in the history of iphone. >> reporter: there have long been questions about when apple would innovate again, when they would introduce the next product, and tonight, they have. tim cook backstage with his own apple watch. >> the apple watch. >> reporter: is this the moment for you, the moment of your career at apple? >> this is a moment for apple. i don't really think about myself that much. but it's an incredible moment. i think it shows innovation is alive and well. >> reporter: in the same room where his former boss and mentor steve jobs unveiled the mac 30 years ago -- it was 1984, steve jobs was on that stage. did you think about that? >> there's not a day that i don't think about him. this morning, here, i especially thought about him and i think he would be incredibly proud to see

the company that he left us, which i think is one of his greatest gifts to mankind, is the company itself, be doing what it's doing today. >> reporter: apple again showing how it stayed ahead of the increasingly intense competition. the smart watch, combining health and fitness monitoring. closer to your goal? >> very close. right now, we only did 50 seconds of running. >> reporter: you burned five calories. and tonight here, the first tweet ever from an apple watch. you actually be able to send voice-activated tweets. how fun it is to send the first tweet ever from an apple watch. period. see you tonight. period. tonight, that tweet has been sent. and look at what else it can do. so, your friends come up on the watch. >> yes. so, you just tap on them and then you can communicate with them, like you always do, with messages or answer a phone call. >> reporter: even your blood pressure, your heart beat. i can feel your heart beat. >> yes. >> reporter: through the watch?

>> yes, you can. >> reporter: show me. >> i put my two fingers here. i'm sending that to my friend who is wearing a watch. >> reporter: the day didn't end there. >> these are the new iphones. >> reporter: cook's unveiling of the iphone 6, 4.7 inches, and the 6-plus, 5.5 inches and thinner. and there's something else it can do. because today, apple announced -- >> apple pay. >> reporter: you can hold your iphone or apple watch at the checkout, no credit card needed. a lot of people said, tim cook is going to walk onto that stage and kill the credit card. did you? >> i think that we put a dagger in it. >> reporter: but in an age where everything can be shared, intentionally or not, should we be worried about privacy? the most common certain i heard in the tweets i received today were about security. particularly with the headlines about the i cloud and when you see celebrities get their photos hacked, people think, well, these are famous people and if they're not protected, what

about us? so, to put all of that information into a watch, can you assure people at home that there is going to be very tight security? >> david, we wouldn't be doing it if we didn't feel like that. we wouldn't do it. we feel like we're making a leap in how secure things are. the fact is, the existing system isn't secure. the credit card system isn't secure. it's not one you should feel great about. >> reporter: for years, apple heard the criticism about how many of their products are made overseas. but tonight, tim cook telling me, creating american jobs is his priority, too. is made in america still important to you? >> it's critically important. in fact, between the watch and the iphones that you've seen, we will have parts or materials or equipment made in 22 of the 50 states. >> reporter: when you say it felt amazing, for you, was it a defining moment in your career here at apple? >> those really aren't the terms that i think in. i think about apple and apple's employees and our broader

ecosystem, the developers and suppliers, et cetera. and for all of them, today was a very important day. >> reporter: but with the world now seeing this apple watch for the first time, what is the secret to getting people to wear a computer on their wrist? the answer coming from a man who rarely speaks publicly. great to see you in person. that you exist. apple's legendary senior designer, jony ive. how did it feel? >> it felt good. it's a -- it's a shocking transition, when you go from, we're working on this for three years and -- it's a relatively small team. so it's a big transition, from working quietly together on something to then suddenly millions of people know what you're doing. >> reporter: that watch will have millions of design combinations. people say you have led the charge when it comes to making

this watch something people want to wear. >> i've been lucky enough to be part of the design team for a long time now. and we've always tried to make products that people don't begrudgingly use, but that they want to use. and i think that the bar for that is very high when it's something that you wear. and it's snag you're going to wear all day every day. and so we worked extremely hard to make it an object that would be, one it would be desirable and it would be personal because we don't all want to wear the same watch. >> reporter: that applause extending across the country. outside this apple store in new york city, a married couple lining up days ago. >> this is our eighth day. >> reporter: a patient bad of early birds in for the long haul. the new i-products won't be on sale for weeks. >> hopefully we can get out of here sooner rather than later. >> before the 19th? >> but we're, i mean, we're

thinking it will probably be ten days from now. >> reporter: cook's final thought lgs on a game-changing day that he says would have made his mentor beam. you told me you began designing and developing this watch after steve jobs died. do you think he'd be smiling at what you announced today? >> i think of him every day and i miss him dearly. but today, i think he's smiling. >> reporter: for "nightline," i'm david muir in cupertino, california. next on "nightline," the other big headline out of the apple event today, u2 nearly stealing the show. the bonanza for bono fans tonight. when folks think about wthey think salmon and energy. but the energy bp produces up here creates something else as well: jobs all over america. engineering and innovation jobs.

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we can't get enough apple tonight, because after their big product launch today, the band u2 helped the crowd celebrate in style and then the band made an announcement of their own. bon o's fans now wondering, is he trying to be the new beyonce? ♪ apple's ceo tim cook calls u2 one of the best bands of all time. today, they lent a little rock and roll attitude to a historic event. >> wasn't that the most incredible single you've ever heard? >> reporter: u2 fans going wild about the surprise performance. but that wasn't all. the band hasn't put out an album in years. turns out there's a reason why. and it's called "songs of

innocence." >> very excited about it, the question is now -- zen master -- how do we get it to as many people as possible because that's what our band is all about. >> reporter: all that mutual admiration culminating in a collaboration. their mission? get the album to as many people as possible for free. >> i do believe you have over a half a billion subscribers to itunes, so -- could you get this to them? >> sure, we could do that. >> reporter: with a click of a button, it was done. and tonight, itunes customers in 119 countries have one extra reason to rock. ♪ i know what i'll be doing when i get home tonight. thank you for watching abc news. tune into "gma" first thing in the morning and as always, we are online, 24/7 at abcnews.com. thanks again for watching and good night.

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