>> i think a life sentence is appropriate for stewart parnell. >> parnell told a judge and victims' families he is truly sorry and asked for forgiveness. food safety advocates say this case highlights the need for congress to provide the fda with more money for inspections. they say those inspections would help keep tainted products from ever reaching store shelves. clayton sandell, abc news, denver former tennis star james blake says he's had a productive meeting with new york city leaders after being mistakenly arrested during the u.s. open. the incident was caught on camera there you see. blake was thrown to the ground by a plain clothed police officer. he was mistakenly identified as a suspect in a fraud case. yesterday, he discussed the incident and ways to strengthen the relationship between cops and the public with new york's mayor and police commissioner. >> we're looking for a lasting positive impact on the city. and on the police force senator blake also made it clear that he's not interested in money or in filing a lawsuit over that

incident. the officer involved remains on desk duty as the investigation into his actions continues. all right. it is that time for a brief sports with reena this morning. monday night football celebrating its 45th anniversary. >> usually we do touch downs but not this week because colts quarterback, we could have but we're talking about andrew luck here and his team provided enough material for a comedy routine. first drive, luck's pass deflected. picked off by the jets and returned deep into indianapolis territory. luck also lost a fumble and threw two more interceptions. a complete disaster. the jets strolled to their second win of the season. final score, 20-7. get up, get up. come on now. >> not so lucky. the jets doing well. >> that's a shocker. >> they're going to build up hopes and disappoint in december. hang in there. >> are they on your fantasy football. >> no, i don't have any of their players and my league. >> as we prepare for the arrival

of pope francis here in the u.s., it's probably a good idea to find out what he likes when it comes to food. >> so apparently on the flight from rome to cuba, a reporter gave pope francis a box of empanadas as a gift. she bought them in miami, brought them with her to rome. kept them frozen and surprised the pope on the flight as a gift. they defrosted them using a hair drier before pope francis who was delighted and decided to share them on the plane with everyone. >> who is operating security and allowed that to happen? that's crazy. this would never pass food sanitation here at a new york restaurant. >> it wouldn't get an a rating >> why all the effort for some empanadas because they're a traditional food in argentina. pope francis' home country. we got hungry. >> absolutely. >> we decided to taste test some argentinean empanadas just in case the pope gets a crave late irthis week. got spinach and cheese.

we want to say these kind of remind me of indian sa mo saz. >> indian sa mo sas. >> we want to say happy anniversary and empanada mama for their food. >> that doesn't quite seem right. >> it was nice of them to provide it to us. if you aren't in new york, go there. they're open 24 hours a day which we definitely like at these hours. they were so kind to provide this and provided their e-mail address, their address, their future restaurants, who their first of kin is. they provided everything that we need to know about the restaurant. and then some. what do you think? >> it's hard getting vegetarian em pan yadas. this one is spinach and cheese and it's delicious. >> this is wheat and cheese. it's good stuff. >> how come they handed me the healthier one? >> we're going to dig in. >> coming up, tracking your kids' behavior in school with a

special app. >> also the scandal forcing some volkswagen grons off the market. the automaker's apology, the impact on the stock market and the possible crackdown. >> these are so good. this is gross though. the rat with a slice of pizza and video that nearly broke twitter. stay tuned for this after a look at today's high temperatures. you're watching "world news now." >> we can't go from this to that. "world news now" weather. brought to you by gerber life insurance. start the interview with a firm handshake.

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american flags flying at government buildings in the state of florida now by law must be made in america. florida's governor rick scott sibed that law yesterday at high school in melbourne, florida. it was students at that school who came up with the idea for the law when they found out many of their u.s. flags weren't made here. their teachers couldn't be more proud. >> you talk all the time and

read inside the textbook how all these different things happen, how this happened in history, that happened in history. we're kind of in a little part of history right now. >> the law officially takes effect on january 1st. apple's reportedly accelerating efforts to build an electric car. "wall street journal" says the auto is now officially a committed project for the tech giant and could be available in four years. the project is is code named titan. and has a green light to triple the number of people working on it. the titan would not be a driverless car at least not at first. >> the head of volkswagen's operations in the u.s. puts it bluntly. the automaker quoting here screwed up. >> it rigged diesel cars to report emission levels lower than they were. here's more from david kerley. >> the stunning admission cost it $15 billion in market value after fessing up that a half million of its diesel cars in

the u.s. weren't using their emission control systems except during testing. some of its most popular models most made in the past six years a fact concealed for a year. the company finally admitting to writing software which sensed when a car is hooked up for a check. the controls limiting emissions would automatically switch on, but after the test, they switched off and the car went back to emitting illegal levels of pollutants. >> it's inconceivable they deliberately design this had software. as we investigated it, they con vealed relevant facts. >> the ceo says the company is deeply sorry we have broken the trust of our customers and the public. criminal charges and an $18 billion fine republican possible. and the company may have to change one of its advertising lines. truth in engineering. david kerley, abc news, washington. some owners are demanding they get their money back for the cars they paid for. >> a lot of people are angry about it.

ironically not only did the stock go down but other german automakers felt the pinch in the markets and bracing for the markets overseas this morning, as well. so we'll see what sort of long effect this has. okay. so coming up, we're going app to school. >> the new teaching tool to help parents know if their kids are acting up. but is it really working? you're watching "world news now." >>

guaoo good album. >> now that the kids are back in school, many of us parents are wondering how they're doing throughout the day. >> yeah, and with the help of smartphone technology, teachers are able to keep parents up to date on their kids' behavior. but is it more of a distraction? abc's becky worley takes a look.

>> reporter: recess ends at john green elementary cool? dublin, california, and miss career has to settle these fourth graders down. for that she uses an iphone and an app. a behavior tracking program called class doe joe lets her note positive interactions. >> that was a showing respect one that time. >> reporter: and learning success. >> that was a putting forth best effort. >> reporter: but she can also log disruptions. i have given two points this year for a hat on in class. >> reporter: while trips to the principal are time tested discipline tactics, these new apps have an added feature. they can alert parents in realtime. >> i can see on the doe joe, i can look it up on my phone and find out that he actually did do good. >> reporter: of course, parents can ask about tougher days. >> what about days when you're like i didn't get quite as many points as i have in the past? >> i go home and tell my mom and dad. they do what they have to do? >> reporter: points are tallied for all the kids to see.

some critics worry children get labelled. richal strickland doesn't like the tracking and the carrot and stick approach. >> all parents i think are concerned how their children are perceived in class. >> one day someone has like four points or something like that and the next day eight or ten. >> according to 0 doe joe, i had a pretty good day. >> other people get less points sometimes and they feel sad. >> reporter: the makers a free app say it's a tool meant to provide concrete information to teachers and parents and they say 90% of feedback given is positive. >> approval table, one, two, three. >> it was back to school day yesterday for parents for my son's class. they just have a jar that you put little beads in when for kindness. called the kindness jar when the kid does something good, you put the bead in. why can't we just be old school? >> speaking of old school, brought in a photo of my favorite teacher. >> oh. yes. >> look at her. i got a mad crush on her.

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so when these folks, when we see something but have a hard time putting into words, we simply say this happened. >> and it's exactly what we say to a bit of video going insanely viral. this happened. a rat carrying a slice of pizza down the stairs of a new york city subway stop. >> believe it or not, this little bit of video set off a social media firestorm winning the internet as they would say. the shot serving as a metaphor for hard working americans biting off more than we can chew. >> you know what, that rat made it all the way down those stairs. what does it say about initiative in america. gilbert god freed hoping he could voice the rat in the feature film. >> aidy an bryant took be issue with the pizza rat's name offering an alternative. cool rat with good taste.

>> and fellows rat rizzo of the makeup muppets gang, he thinks he might have found a long lost relative. i love that one. >> folks here in new york, that's just what we call monday. it's a common sight. >> up next a contest where adults battle it out to see who can make the ugliest face. >> they're called the world grinning championships. they take place in the uk as part of a crab fair. this year's reigning champ was defelonied. gordon black lock won with an impressive mug. >>ing this tradition dates back to the 13th century when crabapples were given to the town folks by the lord of the manor. i think the dentures are an unfair advantage. >> yeah, i would have to say so. do you have a gurning face? so glad that camera one is not here for mine. >> that's cute. duck lips. >> >> that's your gurning face? that's the best you can do. >> an ugly mug. >> finally a panda takes a

tumble down a ladder. yes, this happened. >> check out these two panda pals playing. one is up on a ladder having a little trouble and other panda is like, abandoning the other struggling on the ladder. >> oh, it wasn't too tough of a fall. but the pandas got to help each other out a little bit. i think that's probably a female panda up on the ladder and the male took off. he's like football on tv, college football starting, got to go. >> i think i see another beautiful female panda over there. >> that could have been it. >> that's all that happened. >> and that's what happened. >> this is the news for this half hour. >> and remember to follow us on facebook, wnnfans.com. more news straight ahead.

this morning on "world news now," the pope's historic journey to america. >> after his rock star following in cuba, pope francis heads to the u.s. in just a matter of hours. the unprecedented security and whirlwind agenda. >> your voice, your vote. cross scott walker off the long list of republicans running for president while carly fiorina talks about a controversial opponent on late night tv. emotional interview. the county clerk from kentucky who refuses to grant same-sex marriage licenses. the tough questions that brought her to tears. it's an abc news exclusive. and later, the muppets return to tv tonight. all the tension between kermit and miss piggy as we take you behind the scenes for details. you won't get anywhere else. it's tuesday, september 22nd. from abc