welcome to "world news tonight." breaking news. an epic and deadly storm that won't let up. the treacherous flooding, and dramatic rescues. some families losing everything. and tonight, where the dams are bursting. desperate search. a cargo ship vanishing in hurricane joaquin. survivor story. the student that made it out alive from the campus mass shooting. the veteran that jumped into the line of fire speaks out. and new details about the killer's final moments. and the 13-year-old on a dark road. the fake accident to throw off

police. and, bear scare. a video of a pint-sized pup taking on two bears. good evening. thanks for joining us on this sunday. i'm tom llamas. let get right to the breaking news. a coastal storm in the east shattering records. and in south carolina tonight, a state of emergency. the roof of this building in columbia collapsing. cars flooded to their roofs. and firefighters rescuing people trapped in their vehicles. four have been killed, and the rain still coming down. fueled by moisture by hurricane joaquin. team coverage across the storm zone, and alex perez starts us

off in columbia. >> reporter: crews using a rope to rescue a woman. and take a look at this mom's face. grief and relief. as firefighters get her son out of a car and into her arms. a marathon of rescues in columbia, south carolina, dangerous for even trained firefighters. two firefighters rescued today. there's so much water, it's easy to forget it's a roadway, not a river. and the water up to the rooftops of some homes. these residents trapped on the upper level. roads giving way. dams bursting. this man escaped with his wife. >> it's tough because everything

i own that i know of has been destroyed. everything i've worked for. >> reporter: countless neighbors volunteering all day and night to get people to safety. >> when i saw what was going on, i just felt the need to help. >> reporter: some who lost everything they owned, just grateful they'll get a chance to start again. >> it's heart wrenching, but i'm so glad we're safe. >> reporter: now, the wait for the water to recede. the cleanup process just beginning. >> alex, thank you. we turn next to rob marciano with the big picture tonight, reporting from north of charleston. >> reporter: a stubborn system that won't give up. >> this is deep. >> reporter: historic rain.

many neighborhoods submerged. >> it's getting deeper. >> reporter: outside charleston, this house got two feet of water. wrecking furniture, soaking drywall and floors. >> you can see the water line. it's a good indicator of how high it came up in this roof. >> reporter: the path of destruction stretching north, too. this house in new jersey, swept away. back in south carolina, i-95, a nearly 75-mile stretch shut down. >> significant flooding occurring. >> reporter: and just a week ago, they were bracing for hurricane joaquin. residents say this storm is worse than hurricane hugo.

>> i'm a little bit concerned. >> reporter: the creek that runs behind this neighborhood, usually six feet wide. it's now, 100 feet wide. >> how much longer will this go on? and how much more rain can they expect? >> looking at the radar, charleston getting more rain. the future, pulling some of the moistu turure into the coastlin. winds will pick up as well. going to the outer banks. becomes a coastal storm over the next 48 hours. and hurricane joaquin, near bermuda, thankfully it's moving out to sea later on tonight. and caught up in the hurricane, a u.s. cargo ship and

its crew of 33. last heard from on thursday morning. the coast guard, combing 30,000 miles of open sea. and discovering a huge field of debris. linzie janis has the story. >> reporter: tonight, a break in the search for the missing cargo ship, the el faro. a 225-square-mile area of debris. and earlier in the day, we were with the coast guard as crews discovered a container and oil sheen floating in the ocean. >> it's common for ships transiting through a storm to lose things off their deck, off their topside decks. life rings, even a container, in heavy weather. it's not uncommon. >> reporter: late saturday, the coast guard pulling this life

ring out of choppy waters. the 790-foot vessel was destined for puerto rico. making a distress call from crooked island, saying the ship had taken on water, and was listing 15 degrees. in an area known as the bermuda triangle. >> a ship is most vulnerable when they're without propulsion. >> reporter: among those onboard the ship, jeremy rheem. >> i'm very hopeful. >> reporter: as of sunset tonight, the coast guard has searched 70,000 square nautical miles of sea. >> thank you.

from roseburg, oregon, stunning details of the heroes and those they saved in the mass shooting. people comforting one another at prayer services. neal karlinsky is there. >> reporter: the pastor's prayers were answered even before he stepped into service today. >> she said, i knew i was going to die today. >> reporter: his 18-year-old daughter lacy, one of the closest witnesses to survive unscathed. saved by a man that fell on top of her when he was shot, later dying. >> i believe in his last moments, he said, i am going to roll onto lacy. >> reporter: she laid under him, playing dead. and this man, the student they say was chosen directly by the gunman to live.

>> he said, you're the lucky one. you're not going to die today. >> reporter: he said the gunman asked the students for their religion, and shot them anyway. saying, we will all be together in a moment. >> he came in to execute. >> reporter: meanwhile, chris mintz, releasing this video. >> i'm doing well, and overwhelmed by the support. >> reporter: the nine victims, ranging from 16 to 67. >> the words were, you got me. i've had enough. i'm done. >> reporter: the official cause of the gunman's death has been ruled a suicide, but officials believe he was hit by officers first. no known motive. and to afghanistan, the destruction of a hospital run by doctors without borders.

it appears to have been an air strike targeting the taliban that destroyed the hospital. president obama sending his deepest condolences. here's alex marquardt. >> reporter: smoke and flames filling the remains of the kunduz hospital. after the strikes, victims lying stunned on the floor. doctors without borders, who operated the hospital. going even further. >> we're saying all the indications ar yes, this was a war crime. >> reporter: doctors without borders says that of the 22 dead, most were staff. some children. afghan officials accused taliban

members of firing from the hospital. >> it was a completely normal evening. >> reporter: one nurse, writing about the aftermath, six patients were burning in their beds. how can this happen? president obama offering condolences, but no apology. while ashe carter calling the situation confused and complicated. the pentagon has promised an investigation of the incident, but doctors without borders is calling for an independent investigation. tom? >> thank you. and the race for 2016. hillary clinton showing up on late night tv. and donald trump on sunday morning tv.

here's mary bruce. >> i wish you could president. >> me, too. >> reporter: hillary clinton offering her lighter side. >> everyone wants to talk about donald trump. >> isn't he the one that's, like, oh, you're all losers? >> reporter: clinton facing a potential game-changing challenge from vice president joe biden. saying it would bring the lead in iowa from 11 points down to 5. and she's still losing to sanders in new hampshire. >> on the republican side, donald trump still in the lead. but his support is slipping in iowa and new hampshire. >> i'm not somebody that needs to do this for other reasons. >> reporter: trump has five-point leads in those states. but carson and fiorina are nipping at his heels. and fiorina, not afraid to say

what she thinks. >> it's not because they don't want to serve. it's because they don't think their president cares about their service. >> reporter: as for clinton, the new strategy comes at a critical time. the first democrat debate is nine days away. >> thank you. and from the vatican, pope francis with a forceful message of traditional marriage. as a priest comes out of the closet, publicly announcing he's gay and in a committed relationship. here's terry moran. >> reporter: the pope reaffirmed the traditional marriage. but he didn't stop there, insisting on acceptance and

mercy for all, even those experiencing divorce. and the vatican now struggling to do damage control. earlier in the week, the news that kentucky county clerk kim davis met with the pope, and claimed he endorsed her actions. >> he said, stay strong. >> reporter: and another stunner, the vatican saying the meeting wasn't the pope's idea. francis offered nothing more than common courtesy. >> his kindness and warmth and hospitality, he shook hands and gave rosaries. >> reporter: and in his last week in washington, embracing a former student, a gay man that brought his longtime partner. >> i do hope it means exactly what it is. that he's not afraid to have a gay friend. that me being gay is no different than me having blue

eyes. >> reporter: a pope that reaffirms the teachings of his church, but solidarity for beyond them. as he said, who am i to judge? terry moran, abc news, london. still ahead, a cold case possibly solved. a hit and run accident involving a 13-year-old. did the suspect go as far as staging a fake accident? and images from nasa that will leave you moonstruck. those stories, coming up. ♪

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as to stage another accident. >> reporter: an elaborate scheme to cover up an accident that took the life of this 13-year-old girl. >> i'm sorry, i choke up when i think about it. >> reporter: for 4 1/2 years, the family has struggled with this heartbreak, as police struggle to figure out who hit her and left her to die. >> if the car had stopped, maybe she could have gotten help. >> reporter: investigators say that the day after the crash, the suspect staged another accident to cover up the damage. >> obviously, it bothered him. why didn't he come forward? >> reporter: in 2013, nearly 1,000 americans died in hit and

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finally tonight, a farmer that just would not give up. digging in his field in michigan, he thought he hit a fence post, but found a window back to the ice age. here's john donvan. >> reporter: it helps to imagine what it used to look like. this woolly mammoth, turned up in a field used to grow soybeans. laying down some drains, he hit some bones and called the university of michigan. >> it's been overwhelming for me to have this many people out here. >> reporter: the rules say the farmer gets the keep it if he wants. while the scientist, he has some theories. >> it was an adult male, probably in its 40s, probably

lived between 10,000 and 15,000 years ago. >> reporter: that puts humans here in prehistoric michigan at the same time. and the theory goes, it was hunted by humans, and put in a pond for preservation. john donvan, abc news. >> those bones are now in a building in the farm. and by federal law, they belong to him. "gma" first thing in the morning, david muir right back here tomorrow night. i'm tom llamas in new york. have a great evening. good night.

d.c. police are investigating the death of a hospital patient days after a fight with security. the severe weather leading to more dramatic water rescues in south carolina. >> half a minute remaining. what a finish. redskins come back in the final minutes of the game to beat the eagles. [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org] heldr: the redskins illegally the eagles well into the second half until the eagles came back and then things theted in favor of redskins. robert burton is live at fedex field with more on the redskins. robert: we thought it