this is "nightline." tonight, breaking news. >> my fellow americans. >> in a rare primetime address, president obama announcing a plan to destroy the extremists of isis. >> if you threaten america, you will find no safe haven. >> the terror group responsible for killing two american hostages and wreaking havoc in iraq and syria. >> we will hunt down terrorists wherever they are. >> why the president is ramping up american involvement on the eve of 9/11 and what it could mean for us back home. plus, nfl firestorm. new calls for the league commissioner to step down as a report suggests they had seen that shocking video months ago of ray rice cold coming his then fiance. what did they really know and when did they know it? and, on the edge.

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good evening. tonight, president obama addressed the nation with a plan to destroy the so-called islamic state. a group that's terrorized civilians in syria and iraq. but the shocking videos of two american journalists being beheaded raise new questions about the threat they pose to the american homeland. and now the president is preparing to take action. i'm joined now by abc's chief white house correspondent jon karl with all the details. >> reporter: good evening, dan. two weeks after the president said he didn't have a strategy for taking on isis in syria, he sought to reassure the american public that he does have a plan, a comprehensive plan for taking on what many in his administration call the greatest terrorist threat since 9/11. >> my mfellow americans. >> reporter: it was a remarkable moment. >> tonight, with a new iraqi government in place, and following consultations with allies abroad and congress at home, i can announce that america will lead a broad coalition to roll back this

terrorist threat. >> reporter: on the eve of 9/11, president obama announcing a new offensive on islamic extremists in iraq and syria. >> our objective is clear. we will degrade and ultimately destroy isil, through a comprehensive and sustained counterterrorism strategy. >> reporter: key elements of the plan includexz sending 475 more u.s. troops to iraq to train and advise the iraqi security forces. bringing the total number of u.s. military personnel in iraq to more than 1,600.ç expanding u.s. air strikes in iraq. training moderate rebels fighting isis in syria. and, in the biggest escalation, white house officials say the president has decided to launch air strikes on isis safe havens in syria, although they won't say when. >> i've made it clear that we will hunt down terrorists that threaten our country, wherever they are. if you threaten america, you will find no safe haven. >> reporter: u.s. officials say

isis is the biggest terror threat since 9/11. what the homeland security secretary called a group of depraved criminals, rapists, kidnappers and killers. in iraq, isis coms one-third of the country, stretching deep into northern syria, where they've spread fear with a sophisticated social media campaign. >> isil is a terrorist organization, pure and simple. and it has no vision other than the slaughter of all who stand in its way. in a region that has known so much bloodshed, these treerroris are unique in the. >> reporter: the execution of two american journalists in syria stirred public opinion, ramping up pressure on the president to take stronger action. >> they took the lives of two american journalists, jim foley and steven sotloff. if left unchecked, these terrorists could pose a growing threat beyond that region.

including to the united states. >> reporter: in the latest abc news/"washington post" poll, 65% of americans support air strikes against isis in syria, with 91% saying isis is a serious threat to u.s. vital interests. the president tonight sought to project a resolute and reassuring image, after weeks of muddled and contra districtry statements. >> i don't want to put the cart before the horse. we don't have a strategy yet. >> reporter: exactly one year after ruling out an extended air campaign in syria -- >> i will not pursue a prolonged air campaign like libya or kosovo. >> reporter: the president may be on the verge of starting one. >> this counterterrorism campaign will be waged through a steady, relentless effort to take out isil wherever they exist, using our air power and our support from partners from forces on the ground. >> reporter: the president said no u.s. combat boots on the ground in iraq of syria.

a message john kerry delivered personally today in baghdad. >> the president of the united states and other leaders of other countries have eliminated the notion of their forces being engaged in direct combat. >> reporter: still, the number of u.s. troops in iraq has been quietly rising. they may not be combat forces, but they face combat danger. just last week, there was reported gun fire aimed at the u.s. embassy in baghdad. republics have criticized the president's posture towards the threat as too cautious. >> president obama seems willfully blind to one of the key facts about the post-9/11 security apparatus. it is not self-sustaining. >> reporter: congress could vote next week to authorize u.s. military training of syrian rebels in the fight against isis. a fight the white house says could last for years. for "nightline," i'm jonathan karl at the white house. >> the president's speech would seem to elevate the stakes even further for any other american

captives being held by the terror group. abc's chief investigative correspondent brian ross joins us now. brian, what can you tell us about what this may mean for them and the american homeland? >> well, dan, the turning point for the u.s. in dealing with isis came after those videos of two american journalists being brutally executed. there are at least two other americans and three westerners still being held and their fate tonight is in serious doubt. the search for the two remaining american hostages did take on greater urgency tonight with the president's speech. but given what has already happened to james foley and steven sotloff, people in the intelligence community say the reality is grim. >> i think the united states has to realize that the probability is, anyone held by isis is going to be killed in response to stepped up american attacks. >> reporter: now, the effort to track the identities and movements of the masked man seen on camera and others offcamera will get added resources. >> full weight of the united states military and the full weight of the united states

intelligence community is now going to be targeted at isis. >> reporter: every video, every online message from isis and its recruits is now being closely examined. >> so here, if you go in here, this is the room where the mujahadin sleep. >> reporter: among the videos being reviewed this is online post from earlier this year, by a group of british isis members showing off the place where they lived in syria. >> everyone has their own designated space. obviously sometimes brothers get messy, sometimes, you know, things get turned upside down. >> reporter: the video shows cell phones plugged in and the area where the british accented narrow or the says they produce the group's propaganda. >> this is where most of the media work happens, on this little desk here. >> reporter: today, the british isis members posted this ominous message of a new video coming tomorrow, september 11th. do not stop me from martyrdom, for it will be the celebration of my new life.

with the fateful anniversary date now, american law enforcement officials today warned of the threat from isis recruits coming back to the u.s. new york police commissioner william bratton. >> isis creates a totally new area of threat for us and one that is probably even more potentially impactful on us than al qaeda. >> reporter: and the commissioner pointed to the power of the isis propaganda videos being produced to recruit new members. >> their ability to inspire, not only those who will go there to fight and then potentially come back, but also to inspire the so-called lone wolves, those sitting in their basements, pouring over their computer terminals. they have an incredible act to influence those young men and women. >> reporter: and this 19-year-old nurse's aide from denver is one of the young women who apparently fell for it. federal prosecutors say she was lured into becoming the bride of a 32-year-old isis fighter in syria, a recent muslim convert, connelly said she had found a

kindred spirit and began training in military tactics and weapons. it was only after members of this denver church tipped off the fbi that the government moved in to stop her from flying off to syria. today, in federal court in denver, connelly pleaded guilty to conspiracy, with her lawyer saying she had been led terribly astray, using her muslim name, halima. >> like all of us, halima has been horrified to learn of the slaughter and oppression at the hands of the people controlling isis. it was never her vision to have any role in any of that. halima is fully aware that the fact that she was arrested may very well have saved her. >> reporter: but the greater concern is of the american recruits who were not caught in time. >> i think the fear in the white house tonight has to be that the president announces something against isis tonight and there's an attack tomorrow. the truth would be, however,

that isis is going after us anyway and has been planning that for a long time. >> reporter: the u.s. says it has no information of any imminent attack by isis or any other group. but as it has been for the last 13 years, september 11th will again be a day of great anxiety. brian ross, abc news, new york. coming up next, a new scandal rocks the nfl. now, the calls for the commissioner to step down. what exactly did the league commissioner to step down. what exactly did the league execs know and when? it all... 'cause red lobster's one and only endless shrimp is now! endless choices! endless variety! kick it up with our spicy new wood-grilled sriracha shrimp and it's back: parmesan crusted shrimp scampi! the year's largest variety of shrimp flavors! so many to explore! as much as you like, any way you like! endless shrimp is here!

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tonight, a new report raising questions about what the nfl knew and when they knew it about a brutal video of former baltimore ravens star ray rice striking his then-fiance. it's catapulted a broader domestic violence problem in the nfl into the spotlight, and now women's rights groups calling for the league commissioner to resign. here's abc's ryan smith. >> reporter: it was the blow that started everything. and today, a commissioner playing defense. in his first comments since the video of nfl player ray rice striking his then fiance janay palmer was made public monday by tmz, roger goodell admitted that the league has until now failed to properly address domestic violence within its ranks. >> absolutely. we're saying, we have a problem. we have one incident that's a problem. >> reporter: and his problem is only growing. >> i just think that he can't

credibly commit to make the deep -- the thorough going and deep changes that clearly need to be made in the nfl. >> reporter: with the national organization for women calling for his resignation. >> we need someone independent to go in, do a top to bottom investigation of the entire nfl and get at the root of the nfl's violence against women program. >> reporter: it all began when this video emerged, showing rice dragging palmer out of an elevator in atlantic city. >> when we met with ray rice and his representatives, it was ambiguous about what happened. >> reporter: goodell says he never saw the full video from inside the elevator until monday. so, he had no idea what really happened. but a law enforcement source tonight items the associated press they sent the nfl a copy of that ray rice beating video back in april. tonight, the nfl responded. "we are not aware of anyone in our office who possessed or saw the video before it was made public on monday. we will look into it."

goodell has repeat bly insisted he first saw the tape this week. >> what we saw yesterday was extremely clear, is extremely graphic and it was sickening. and that's why we took the action we took yesterday. >> reporter: a message he reiterated today in a letter to nfl executives, writing, "when the new video evidence became available, we acted promptly." but the question lingers. why did goodell require video proof of the beating in the first place? police documents obtained by abc news show the severity of the attack was clear almost immediately hp police said rice punched his wife, quote, rendering her unconscious. >> they didn't need the tapes. and that's the part that they have yet to own up to. for it to take aç video and to take us being stuck with these kind of lasting horrible images, i think is just -- it just says a lot about how much the nfl missed the mark with this. >> reporter: today, as goodell refused to speak to reporters

while he was in north carolina speaking with students, the national organization for women had this to say. >> there are over 50 incidents of domestic violence by nfl personnel on roger goodell's watch. under roger goodell's leadership, the nfl's pattern and practice has been to sweep all of this under the rug. >> ray rice isn't the only player in the nfl to have ever hit his partner. there are players right now who will be playing, who are under domestic violence investigations. >> reporter: domestic violence accounts for 48% of arrests for violent crimes among nfl players. but it took actually seeing what domestic violence looks like to make an impact. >> the video was the reason that ray rice is no longer a baltimore raven, nor will he play this season in the nfl. >> it wasn't when lodger goodell saw the video that he took action against ray rice. it was when millions of nfl fans

saw the video. that's when goodell and the ravens took action against ray rice. >> reporter: among those football fans, almost half of them are women. in fact, more women in the u.s. watched the super bowl than watch the oscars,grammies and emmys combined. this all comes at a time when the nfl is trying to increase its female fan base. even running tv ads with nfl gear for women. >> you did it week after week, day after day. >> reporter: once sported rice's number 27. this week, nike pulled the plug on rice's sponsorship. ravens fans have been turning in jerseys bearing his name. while his ban from football is indefinite, goodell doesn't rule out a return. >> he would have to make sure that we have fully confident that he is addressing this issue. clearly. >> reporter: but following rice forever will always be that video from the elevator. >> that video's going to be very hard for a lot of people to forget and i think it's going to take a lot for nfl owners and

nfl personnel to get over that to give ray rice another opportunity. >> reporter: for "nightline," i'm ryan smith in new york. >> and in a late-breaking development, former fbi director robert mouler will conduct an independent investigation into the nfl's purr suit and handling of evidence in the incident. next, the man who walked right off a cliff while sleepwalking. how did he survive a 60-foot fall? so i get invited to quite a few family gatherings. heck, i saved judith here a fortune with discounts like safe driver, multi-car, paperless. you make a mighty fine missus, m'lady. i'm not saying mark's thrifty. let's just say, i saved him $519, and it certainly didn't go toward that ring. am i right? [ laughs ] [ dance music playing ]

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you're about to meet a man who was right on the edge of survive var. literally. he walked straight off a cliff while sleepwalking. a condition he didn't even know he had. could it happen to you? here's abc's gio benitez. >> reporter: late night in kentucky's red river gorge, a frantic 911 call. >> all search and rescue. we have a fall with a 27-year-old. >> reporter: ryan campbell out on a camping trip with his buddies. >> the last thing i remember is getting in my hammock and going to sleep. >> reporter: campbell, while still asleep, got up from that hammock, walking just steps to a 60-foot cliff and falling off. his friend watched it all unfold. >> he just saw me take a step and disappear. >> reporter: amazingly, campbell landing on shrubbery. no life-threatening injuries. here's what as really scary. campbell never realized he had a sleepwalking problem. >> obviously, the sleepwalking thing, i didn't see that coming. i sleepwalked once in my adult life other than this.

>> reporter: while sleepwalking's no joke it's been fodder for onscreen humor. >> how long has this been going on? >> i don't think it's that serious. >> reporter: like in "sleepwalk with me" where he falls for the olympic gold medal of his dreams. >> thank you! >> reporter: in the 2008 hit comedy "stepbrothers," they sleepwalk their way through christmas eve. >> i'm walking them up. >> no, don't wake them up. >> reporter: in waking reality, estimates are that more than 8 million americans sleepwalk. but many of us don't even know we're doing it. just last october. this woman in boston sleepwalking right onto subway tracks. others quickly rushing to pull her out. how can something like this happen? >> sleep deprivation. our country, we don't get enough sleep. >> reporter: as for ryan campbell, he says he'll keep camping, but from now on, will watch his step. >> i don't care how rare it is, that i sleepwalk, i'm not sleeping by cliffs anymore.

>> reporter: for "nightline," i'm gio benitez in new york. >> that's probably a good plan. thanks for watching abc news. tune into "good morning america" tomorrow. "world news now" coming up. and as always, we're always online at abcnews.com. good night.