this morning on "world news now" -- tropical trouble. >> the storm system flooding much of the east could be followed by strengthening storm named joaquin. the extreme weather delivered in a one-two punch. cold case solved. after 24 years the man accused of torturing two women is now in custody. how a famous tv crimefighter helped police. consumer alert. the battle for your smartphone business dials up even more. how you can save hundreds thanks to intense competition. and later, record jump. more than 200 brave skydivers sharing the same goal. the amazing outcome on this wednesday september 30th. >> announcer: from abc news, this is "world news now." good morning on this wednesday. i'm reena ninan back.

but my isb, which is a fancy thing that the control room can talk to me, i think it's meant to be. it turned back -- >> it's broken. but it's the lifeline to the producers. it's a good thing. you don't get to hear them scream at you. you don't get to hear them say wrap or anything. >> it's all on you today, kendis. >> so great. i get to hear the voices in my head today. welcome back. >> thank you very much. >> what a week to be back. >> oh, my goodness. all about weather. i hope you have your abc rain jacket with you. >> yes. >> you sported that many a time out in the field. and we're going to start with the double trouble really being brought up by mother nature. >> we're talking about the two major slow systems slowly gaining strength. marty in the pacific and of course we're following joaquin in the atlantic. joaquin has winds of at least 70 miles an hour. whether it will impact the u.s. is still unclear. >> but a third storm is already bringing torrential rain and flooding to the southeast. abc's ginger zee of course tracking it all. >> reporter: plowing through the evening commute.

>> this is the first time it's ever got up this bad. >> reporter: even submerging part of this campus. a wet and wild day at james madison university. >> oh, god. >> reporter: flash floods from virginia to north carolina. more than two inches of rain in just over an hour, flooding parking lots in high point, north carolina, sweeping away a car, forcing a chaotic water rescue. >> this water tonight really surprised me. how fast it will carry you down the river. >> reporter: all that moisture surging north into virginia, consuming roads, stressing the drainage system, and taking over back yards. it's that same tropical moisture that doused the panhandle of florida with a foot of rain monday. it meets the cold front and the northeast is in the crosshairs. remember, these are two separate storms. the one that's hitting now, mostly interior new england going to get the brunt of it as we go through our wednesday. most of us are going to dry out as we go through wednesday afternoon and early wednesday evening.

then there's joaquin. way out in the atlantic. something that we are tracking as it gets closer by the weekend we'll know a lot more. ginger zee, abc news, new york. >> of course abc continuing to track that story throughout the day. in the meantime we have breaking news from georgia where the state's only female death row inmate has been executed. kelly gissendaner was pronounced dead at 21 minutes after midnight. the execution came after the u.s. supreme court rejected a third appeal. gissendaner was convicted of conspiring to kill her husband, but she wasn't present for his actual murder and later became a model prisoner. family and friends fought to save her life. >> every day i feel like my world is just falling apart. >> i love you, i love you, i love you. i am so proud of you. >> well, pope francis's diplomatic representative in the u.s. sent a letter on behalf of the pope asking that her life be spared. he cited an address the pope gave before congress last week

during which he called for the death penalty to be abolished. leaders in chicago say gun violence is out of control. six people have been killed and at least eight others wounded in just the past two days. those wounded include an 11-month-old boy and a 2-year-old. this latest burst of violence follows two straight bloody weekends. >> chicago's got to wake up. we've got to stop saying it's okay to have 30, 40, 50 people shot over a weekend. oh, my god, look, we're setting records. the number one issue in the city chicago should be gun violence. >> the mayor is calling for stricter gun control laws and enforcement of them. murders and non-fatal shootings in chicago both up 20% this year. a former fugitive who's been running from authorities for nearly a quarter century is being sent back to oregon to face justice. paul jackson was captured in mexico. he's accused of kidnapping as well as torturing two women, and he was taken into custody after being profiled by a well-known tv crime fighter, john walsh.

abc's pierre thomas with the details. >> reporter: the nightmare began in this room 24 years ago. young oregon women kidnapped off the streets and raped for days. >> i was sure that i was going to die, and i was chained and shackled at my ankles and my wrists. >> reporter: the horror only ending when one freed herself and dove through a window to escape. >> directly across the hall from the bedroom where they kept me chained, and i knew that that was like my only, only escape. >> reporter: since then paul irvin jackson, the man accused of these crimes, had been on the run after jumping bail. jackson is behind bars in los angeles. tracked down in guadalajara, mexico by the u.s. marshals. jackson was arrested with the help of a tv show, and a familiar face now synonymous with catching bad guys, john walsh. his show decided to feature the cold case and a critical tip came in within 24 hours that led authorities to jackson. >> this lowlife is finally going to face justice, and these women are going to get their day in

court. another one down. a really bad lowlife down. >> reporter: jackson's brother, vance roberts, was on the run for 16 years before he turned himself in in 2006, for his role in those heinous crimes. he's now serving more than 100 years in jail. jackson likely faces the same justice. pierre thomas, abc news, washington. overseas right now. afghan forces appear to be failing in their efforts to retake the city of kunduz despite u.s. air support. the taliban has threatened its hold on the city, closing roads, torching government buildings, and taking over the airport. the city's limited health facilities overwhelmed by the injured, though the number of dead and injured remains unclear. president obama is warning that the fight against isis will not be won with weapons alone. speaking at a u.n. summit he said that good ideas, jobs, and good governance are key to defeating isis. this as a new report finds an increasing number of americans are joining isis. here's abc's martha raddatz. >> reporter: the house homeland

committee task torres report says there are 250 americans who have gone to iraq and syria joining up with isis or other islamic extremist groups. are you confident that we can track all 250? >> no, i'm not. and this has long been the concern about fighters that go into iraq and syria, get trained, and then have a western passport and get back either into europe or into the united states. >> reporter: and you believe they could get back into the united states? >> absolutely. >> reporter: there have been about 70 criminal cases brought in the u.s. of isis supporters, suspected isis supporters, but the report says americans are being radicalized at an unprecedented speed and straining the abilities of law enforcement to monitor and intercept them. martha raddatz, abc news, washington. the head of planned parenthood has defended her health organization. before highly critical lawmakers on capitol hill. cecile richards said less than 1% of the group's clinics donate

fetal tissue for medical research. she said that videos released by an anti-abortion group were doctored to appear that the tissue was sold when in fact they claim it wasn't. >> the outrageous accusations leveled against planned parenthood based on heavily doctored videos are offensive and categorically untrue. >> as for republican presidential candidate carly fiorina's claim that planned parenthood kept a fetus alive in order to harvest its brain, plarntdhood has accused fiorina of lying about the video. the auto workers union is threatening to strike one of ford plants that makes the popular f-150 pickup truck. 7,500 union members work at the plant in kansas city. a strike could prove crippling to ford since the f-150 is highly profitable to the automaker. the uaw says ford has refused to address issues of safety, manpower, as well as seniority at that plant.

well, some developments in the voswagen emissions scandal. a house committee is now asking the company for all its information about compliance with u.s. emission standards. the lawmakers want to know how volkswagen was able to cheat emissions tests with 11 million cars worldwide. and volkswagen has drawn up a plan to have all those cars refitted. that's something dealers here in the u.s. say simply has to be done. >> there's been a group of customers that has been concerned about feeling like they've been duped through the process. and you know, there's a lot of emotion when something like this of this magnitude happens. >> authorities say there are 482,000 volkswagen vehicles in the u.s. that would need to be recalled. okay. so an interesting concept here. it might not help, but at least american airlines passengers will know where their missing bag went. the carrier is now offering free real-time online luggage tracking for checked bags.

the carrier added the free perk without fanfare saying it's something customers had been asking for. american was already collecting the data for internal use but is now sharing it with passengers. >> i'm really glad to hear that. do you know i went on a trip from d.c. to south africa for nelson mandela's final days and they lost my suitcase. i had months' worth of clothes i was going to be out there for. couldn't track it. my mother-in-law finally got to the bottom of it. >> very good to hear. the entire time you're talking producers in my ear saying shut her up. >> we now know it's a daily occurrence. oh, for a group of native americans in south dakota is going all in in pursuit of a new revenue stream. the stream is all about one thing. pot. >> yeah. the fanti sioux is planning the nation's first marijuana resort on its reservation. they already have a growing facility set up and they expect to be selling their first joint at a new year's eve party.

>> the tribe's president says they want the resort to be an adult playground. and make no mistake, this is big business. the tribe says it could generate up to $2 million a month in profit. >> you like the idea. >> well, we were supposed to chat about this, but since the producers said tell her to be quiet i'll be quiet. >> in my ear, yes. there are even sound effects. reena's in her own world right now. >> is that the gunshot they had? >> i'll tell you, my one thing about that whole idea is that just imagine the long line at the buffet. >> oh! >> munchies. >> getting the munchies. what is the cookie place that people here in the bureau really love? midnight cookies? insomniac cookies? >> i wouldn't know. >> or is that the cookies we make in our kitchen? >> all right. coming up in "the mix," fashion police. the college campus taking aim at the man bun. >> is this your way of saying to move on? >> yes. >> also, offers to upgrade your smartphone for only a dollar. could the new battle for your

phone business help you save money? >> and later, 200 brave people take to the skies to jump their way into the history books. >> and remember, you can find us on facebook, wnnfans.com, and twitter @abcwnn. we always love hearing from you. you're watching "world news now." >> i'm alex trebek. if you're age 50 to 85, this is an important message. so please, write down the number on your screen. the lock i want to talk to you about isn't the one on your door. it's a rate lock for your life insurance that guarantees your rate can never go up at any time, for any reason. but be careful. many policies you see do not have one, but you can get a lifetime rate lock through the colonial penn program. call this number to learn more. this plan was designed with a rate lock for people on a fixed income who want affordable life insurance that's simple to get. coverage options for just $9.95 a month, less than 35 cents a day.

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it destroys limescale in seconds without scrubbing. tough hard water buildup - gone! no scrubbing. turbo power destroys it. for lime, calcium and rust, lime-a-way is a must! the hunt it on in philadelphia for a man who got his nails done on sunday and then robbed the nail salon. when he was asked to pay, he

pulled out a sawed-off shotgun and demanded money. surveillance cameras show him grabbing money and some items from drawers. no shots were fired, and no one was injured before the guy made his escape. must not have liked the pedi or the mani. with the release of their new iphone, apple has set a record, selling 13 million new iphones in just a matter of three days. >> and it's no surprise that cell phone companies are pulling out all the stops to sign up customers. here's abc's rebecca jarvis with all those deals. >> reporter: the hottest-selling phone of all time -- >> this is iphone 6s. >> reporter: igniting a price war. >> get the new iphone 6s at t-mobile. >> reporter: wireless carriers like t-mobile, sprint, at&t, and verizon competing for your business with a familiar approach. slashing prices on phones to lock you into their monthly plans. >> they want you to sign a deal with them because then you'll be there for a year, maybe more, and you'll just keep upgrading. >> reporter: if you buy this

iphone 6s outright from apple, it costs $649. at sprint you can get the same iphone for $1 a month as long as you have an iphone 6 to trade in. at t-mobile it's a little higher. $5 a month. but their offer is available if you trade in an ione 6 or the most current galaxy. but buyer beware. cancel that wireless service and you'll be face a much bigger bill for the device itself. >> if you wanted to go to a new carrier you'd have to pay off the phone. >> yeah. exactly. but then the phone belongs to you and you can take it wherever you want. >> reporter: rebecca jarvis, abc news, new york. >> you're really into the iphone. >> i'm into the iphone. but some people were yelling at me yesterday on twitter saying all we talk about is the iphone, saying you know, google was presenting brand new phones yesterday -- >> oh, i didn't know that. >> and they did make a big splash with two new phones. >> is google bringing back the blackberry? >> no. i think it's a different maker.

>> the rotary phone. is google bringing back the rotary phone? or those red glasses? >> it can be like an operator. >> it could be an operator. >> we should mention her earpiece is back and working. >> thanks for -- coming up in our next half hour -- why you should think about putting down the smartphone. despite the latest deals, a new study finding adults are talking face to face much less even though we know it's better when we do. >> all right. but first jumping into history, a new world record in skydiving. we're along for the ride as these daredevils go through all the precise steps to pull off the biggest group jump ever. the international effort next on "world news now."

you can jump out of a plane thousands of feet above the ground. it's a decision one must make on

their own. >> yes, it does. but if you want to be part of a new skydiving world record it's going to take some serious work together. abc's rob mcmillan caught up with some of these brave and very cooperative folks. >> reporter: there were more than 200 of them, skydivers from nearly 30 countries all around the world. but there was only one goal -- to set a new world record. >> we're in the build-up phase right now. and we've been practicing for the last two days. >> reporter: the task seemed almost impossible. 202 skydivers loaded up onto nine different planes. once at altitude, with the planes in perfect formation, the skydivers jump. like putting together a jigsaw puzzle, they all get into formation, then break and make a second formation. all of this in just 60 seconds. the old record was 121 people. here they're trying for more than 200.

>> it's a zero defect environment because everything has to be exactly right. >> there have been about four or five attempts earlier, you know, a couple years ago, but they all failed. >> reporter: people came from all over to watch. >> unbelievable. >> you see them but like it's never that many. >> to watch them all come in so fast one after the other. it kind of gives you goosebumps. >> reporter: these skydivers go up every couple of hours, each time getting closer and closer to setting that record. >> there we go. >> wow. >> reporter: they were confident that they did it. >> whoo! >> reporter: a set of judges had to make the decision. >> and you guys broke the record. [ cheers and applause ] >> reporter: 202 skydivers from all across the globe, all of them now in possession of the world record. this is rob mcmillan for abc news. >> it looks very cool. >> yeah. good for them. not for us. not at all. coming up, who's outlawing the man bun?

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ditch the misery. let's end this. ♪ it's time for "the mix." a lot of people do it. they try to park in handicapped spots. >> oh, yeah. >> which is such a no-no. and apparently in russia they say some 30% of drivers do it. so a group called bird strategy in russia decided to fight back with this. take a look at it. it's a hologram of a handicapped man. >> okay. >> and they're putting these around spots to show people -- >> they just show up if you're trying to park or -- >> does the hologram man show up? >> yeah. >> i'm not sure about that. but this video went driver. it's an ad agency that teamed up to do it. >> oh, wow. >> apparently their website says whatever's new in the tech world we're ahead of it. but it is such a huge problem. it drives you nuts because you can tell when people don't have a handicapped tag on their car. >> that is kind of creepy, though.

to just see this guy show up out of nowhere when you're trying to park. that's one way to get the message in there. >> i think we should bring this to russia. too bad that meeting between obama and footin didn't go too well. >> that would be one way to -- >> to bring it over. >> yeah, absolutely. so you know the man bun has been all over the place. brian's hair is long enough to be able to put it in a man bun despite his wife not wanting it. we've seen the man bun. some of us have different feelings about. i think it's cool. being a follically challenged person as i am. but the folks at brigham young university their idaho campus have put out new rules on their campus. they ban the man bun. >> why? >> they say it does not follow the code that is consistent with the teaching of jesus christ. so you cannot have the man bun as a student at byu. even though in many a movies doesn't it look like jesus had hair long enough for a man bun? >> yes, it does.

i think that's true. the last supper photo i've seen. the prayer at gethsemane. all those photos had him with long hair. >> he wouldn't be allowed at byu in idaho. >> wow. who knew? another thing that's kind of strange that we didn't know about, ikea apparently has its own fashion show. take a look at the stuff they put out there. this is part of -- >> what in the world? >> the first fashion show. it's a collection that will be available in the u.s. for spring 2016. don't put things here. i'm not quite sure -- >> that's an eye. >> that's an eyeball. space eyeball? i'm not so sure. but there are aprons, shopping bags, cushions, dinnerware, lamp shades. and a -- >> doesn't that look like kanye's fashion line? >> no. his is fantastic. this is very interesting. this is like interpretive fashion. >> it is. just imagine how long it took them to put that together. ikea.

breaking overnight on "world news now," death row drama. the tense legal battle to stop a mother convicted of a murder plot from execution. the decision a short while ago from the supreme court. and new this half hour, same-sex marriage and the pope. >> details emerging about the county clerk from kentucky who refused to issue marriage licenses. she says she met with pope francis. political fight. bill clinton speaking out about donald trump, the presidential campaign's latest war of words. and later, lady gaga is number one. and we're not talking about her latest single. we're talking about something bigger. that's in "the skinny" this wednesday september 30th. ♪ tonight >> announcer: from abc news,