good evening. as we come to air nearly 40 million americans are scanning the skies, wonder what the night will bring. high winds, tornadoes and wicked weather across a massive swath across the country right now. a line of storms stretching more than 1,600 miles. look at this map, outbreaks from tulsa to the tip of massachusetts. reports poring in. twisters touching down. tens of thousands of lightening strikes. the sky lit with destructive potential. abc's ginger zee is tracking it all for us. >> we'll start with a map that shows you the watches and

thunderstorm watches. if you are in this area, got a chance of seeing 60 to 80 miles an hour wind, large hails and reports in of tornadoes. bottom line, we're in the thick of it as this summer of extremes continues. severe storms almost everywhere you look tonight. let's start in pennsylvania, blinding rains and damages winds blew through that town. then outside new york, the first images coming in from a tornado that ripped roofs from homes and trapped people in their cars. there was pounding hail in cincinnati, angry skies and incredible lighting around the great lakes. even before tonight's severe weather eruption, it had been a wild week. the nation has has been more 700 reports of damaging wind since monday alone. these images from kansas, power lines slapped by violent winds. >> the wind came up in a second. >> reporter: the severe storms are being fed in part by the extreme heat. the nation still plastered with heat warnings and advisories.

it's been so hot that cooling ponds outside nuclear plants like this one near chicago are getting too warm or the water is falling too low for the plants to function safely. >> the difficulty in meeting the overall demand for energy and unprecedented levels now only going to go up. >> reporter: across the nation t heat is twisting rail lines and buckling roads. with all these dangers, it's still too dry. a phrase echoed from coast to coast. almost every state now has some level of drought. giving grass fires like this one that started burning along a oklahoma interstate plenty of fuel. >> the threat tonight is huge. i want to point to anywhere from oklahoma to boston and southern maine, including the chicago, has a chance of severe weather. that area you see from cincinnati, new york city, d.c., that is the major exceptional threat. everyone should be on alert. stay with your local abc station. >> thank you. now in london, what's being

called mitt romney's golden gaffe. he is on his first overseas trip as the republican nominee. first stop, the olympics. but within 24 hours of touching down, he is at the center of a fire storm, questioning whether london is ready to host these olympic games. it's your "your voice your vote." abc's david muir asked romney about it all today. david, good evening to you. >> reporter: josh, good evening. this was supposed to be mitt romney's olympic moment after having turned around the salt lake city games. today, as this day unfolded the spotlight of the world stage proved it can be blistering. in a city about to put on the summer olympics, many here did not like what they heard when mitt romney was asked whether the london games looked ready. >> it's hard to know just how well it will turn out. there are a few things that were disconcerting. the stories about the private security firm not having enough people. >> it set off a fire storm. on television here, it's the lead story. >> if he's to make friends, he has a funny way of showing it. >> reporter: the mayor of london

in front of 60,000 people in hooifd hyde park. >> there's a guy called mitt romney who wants to know whether we're ready. he wants to know whether we're ready. are we ready? are we ready? yes, we are. >> reporter: this morning, when britain's prime minister was asked about not being ready, he answered, seeming to compare london to salt lake city. >> we are holding an olympic games in one of the busiest, most active cities anywhere in the world. of course it's easier if you hold an olympic games in the middle of nowhere. >> the times of london home page, put down to romney. in the middle of it all, it was time for romney to pay his visit to that prime minister. i wanted to have give you a little bit of the flavor of the international curiosity into mitt romney's world audition. the international press lined up here. it's the british reporters who gathered here to ask mitt romney what was so disconcerted about the london olympics. when romney emerged, we asked him about the words we used that

set this off. >> you found some things disconcerting in the lead up to tp london olympics. did you talk with the prime minister about that today? >> my experience as olympic organizer is that there are always a few very small things that end up going not quite right in the first day or so. those get ironed out. and then when the games themselves begin, and the athletes take over, all the mistakes that the organizing committee, i made a few, all of those are overwhelmed by the many things that the athletes carry out. >> the prime minister here late today was asked if mitt romney apologized to him. prime minister saying he felt a vote of confidence from romney. this story traveled all the way back to salt lake city. that we love to have him. he can stop by any time. we would love to send him a map so he doesn't have any trouble locating the middle of nowhere. the story isn't over, josh. >> david, will be traveling with mitt romney for the duration of

the romney's overseas trip. next stop israel where david will sit down with romney for an interview that we will have for you this sunday. and now to your money. if you are watching the markets today, you saw it too. a bill jolt. the dow up more than 200 points, breathing new life in more than 401(k)s after the president of the european central bank vowed to do whatever it takes to save the euro. this as we got a first look at facebook's finances since that wildly anticipated ipo back in may. mark zuckerberg and his inner circle have said little about what's going on behind the scenes there. today, facebook released its first ever quarterly earns. we have more on that. what exactly did we learn? >> this is a day we were waiting for. we learned that they met expectations. revenue grew by 32% to $1.18 billion. that was not the block buster number that analysts had been hoping for. there is continued concern for

growth for the company going forward in the next few years. something else we learned more than half of the 1 billion users log on to it through their smart phones. how is the company going to monetize that? we didn't get a clear answer from mark today. that's why the stock is down. >> despite that billion plus figure, big questions remain here. and not the best of news considering the rough ipo back in may. >> terrible couple of months. the stock was overpriced. at its peak, it was $45 a share. somebody would have lost $17 a share. it looks like the stock is going to open even lower tomorrow. >> stunning numbers that remain in flux. thank you. and now, overseas to syria. where there is an exodus underway in the country's second largest city of aleppo. thousands fleeing amid fierce of show down there. reports that president bashar al assad's forces are about to unleash new attacks. tanks moving into position.

our partners at the bbc have been reporting from the heart of the city. and ian pannell has our report tonight. >> there's a real sense that we're at the 11th hour in aleppo city. neither side can afford to lose. what's at stake here is nothing less than the survival of the regime of the president bashar al assad and possibly the impact for the next few months for the revolution of the free syrian army. you have two sides essentially getting ammunition, getting weapons and men into place. there are 2.5 million people living in the city. and people expect it could be a blood bath. both sides are digging in and people are expecting that in the next 24 to 48 hours the battle will commence. >> the bbc's ian in syria. thank you for that. back here at home, investigators are poring over that notebook believed to be that of james holmes. the accused gunman in that movie theater shooting. what could be a road map to a massacre and abc's dan harris tells us, experts now say

detailed written plans are often a hallmark of mass murders. >> reporter: tonight law enforcement officials are analyzing the notebook believed to be from the suspect james holmes. discovered in the mailroom at the university of colorado where holmes was a student. when investigators first found the package they were so concerned it too would be rigged with explosives, they sent in a robot to handle it. inside the notebook they reportedly found plans for a massacre including drawings of a stick figure gunman mowing down his victims. >> universally, mass shooters is all about revenge. he wanted to pay society back for what he believed society had done to him. and i think the note book will talk about that. >> reporter: in america's over-crowded history of mass murder nearly every perpetrator has left behind documentation. the columbine killers left voluminous diaries, diagrams of the school, and ominous videos. jarred lee loughner, who shot

gabrielle giffords, posted incomprehensible videos about his community college. >> this is my genocide school. >> reporter: and seoung hi cho of virginia tech recorded a garbled rant at unnamed and perhaps unknowable wrong-doers. >> i die like jesus christ to inspire generations of the weak and defense less people. >> i think some of this is that these attackers want to be understood and at the time they carry out the attack they don't feel understood, like they have no other options. >> reporter: but given the confused ramblings of his predecessors, it is almost certain that even if james holmes' notebook reveals his motive, the rest of us will find it either incomprehensible or unacceptable. or both. josh. >> that is certain dan, thank you there. meanwhile, we want to update you on one of the victims of the shooting.

caleb in a coma since being hit by a bullet in that movie theater. on tuesday, his wife katie also in the theater gave birth to a healthy baby boy named hugo. caleb now has sensation on the left side of his body. and when baby hugo was brought into caleb's hospital room, dad's heart rate went through the roof. still to come, the best team usa has to offer. america's elite athletes, they're just like us, right? well, maybe not so much. the science of olympic superstars next. if there was a pill to help protect your eye health as you age... would you take it? well, there is. [ male announcer ] it's called ocuvite. a vitamin totally dedicated to your eyes, from the eye-care experts at bausch + lomb. as you age, eyes can lose vital nutrients. ocuvite helps replenish key eye nutrients.

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hour after hour. he out-eats the average american male by around 10,000 calories a day. >> there will be a lot of ice tubs and massages and trying to cram calories into my system as much as i can. >> reporter: his teammate ryan lochte used to get a lot of those calories eating junk food, but this time around he's refined his diet and a workout that includes moving anchor chains and monster truck tires in addition to swimming around 70 miles a week. and while the average swimmer doing the crawl down at the ymca can propel themselves around four feet per stroke, gold medalist rebecca soni goes 50% farther. and when our friends at espn's "sport science" put sensors on her hands, they found out why. each stroke generates up to 24 pounds of force, and while the average person has a stronger side that causes them to veer off-course, her stroke is almost perfectly balanced. over in track and field, jesse williams can jump higher than any person on the planet,

almost two feet higher than he is tall, thanks to a step that generates 1,200 pounds of force, almost enough to lift his own body weight eight times. and his technique pushes the laws of physics, spinning so fast, and arching so far, 140 degrees, his center of gravity technically stays outside of his body. when it comes to power and tiny packages, it's tough to beat gymnasts. she has spun around that bar almost three times per second and still able to relocate that narrow target that's in her 23 hundredths of a second. but before they get to run and jump, these superhumans get to march into that stadium behind me. all evening we've been watching laser lights and helicopter sky divers get the final practice in. director danny boyle of slum dog millionaire s the director and

he promises an opening ceremony, josh, that will include british staples as the beatles, shakespeare and james bond. and ten chickens and 70 sheep. >> still no word on who might be lighting that torch? probably not the sheep. bill weir there in london. what a night that will be. thank you for that. when we come back, how a 17 pound lobster ended up not on a menu but making his or perhaps her way back home. next. doctor doing your job, the pitch! whoa! so why are you doing his? only your doctor can determine if your persistent heartburn is actually something more serious like acid reflux disease. over time, stomach acid can damage the lining of your esophagus. for many, prescription nexium not only provides 24-hour heartburn relief, but can also help heal acid-related erosions in the lining of your esophagus. talk to your doctor about the risk for osteoporosis-related bone fractures and low magnesium levels

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and a consumer alert to bring you. a massive recall to tell you about. nearly half a million suvs, ford escapes and mavericks being recalled after our affiliate aired a series of investigates. the cars have what's called a sticky pedal. a defect in the cruise control cable that can cause the cars to speed out of control. you can find all of the details on our website. if you remember this iconic photo, the year 1932. those fearless hard hats taking a lunch break. well, turns out these old-timers did not corner the market on bravery at altitude. today, a new image of a new generation of the fearless, these workers inspecting a crane on the 93rd floor of one world trade center, rising anew here in manhattan. one worker told the newspaper, you just get used to it. your mind doesn't register the

danger. that makes one of us. the kind of free willy story. a man bought a giant 17 pound lobster at a restaurant, not to eat but to liberate. the lobster nicknamed larry by some local kids, could be 100 years old or more, old enough to lived through two world wars, the moon landing, the personal computer and the $5 cup of coffee. so much history, he said that larry, quote, didn't deserve a bib and butter end quote. and so after buying larry, he set out for long island and let larry go. swim free larry and prosper. still to come here, taylor and burton, with a surprising new hollywood revelation, we look at why their off screen made us love them more on the screen. this is rudy. his morning starts with arthritis pain. and two pills.

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and finally, for as long as we've loved our movies, we have been equally besided with our movie stars. movie stars who have been in love with each other, literally. all day the internet has been ablaze with one of the young couples may be on the rocks. tonight, john donovan has more on this. >> reporter: so love falters, as close followers of the kristen stewart/robert pattison real life romance know -- the one that had echoes in the on-screen passion of the characters they play in the "twilight" series. real life kristen had been caught cheating on real life

robert and has apologized publically. we've seen it before. a movie star jumps up and down on a couch to tell the world he's in love. they marry. they split. okay, fine. but it's different when they also perform love as a story in a movie, as during his first marriage to nicole kidman, of course. watch "eyes wide shut," and the line blurs. the feeling you get. they're not just acting. when pitt and jolie played mr. and mrs. smith, the word was they fell in love during the making of the movie. so you watch it, and you wonder, had it all started yet the day they shot this scene? it's classic, really. tracy and hepburn. taylor and burton. bogart and bacall. watch "the big sleep," for example. the connection they had. time was, that was for real. but heres the thing, taylor and burton broke up. cruise and kidman, of course, broke up.

and where does that leave fans? well, here's the thing -- kristen and robert may or may not be finished. but the scenes they shot didn't change. time was, something in that was for real. and we know. we've seen that before. john donovan, abc news, pittman, new jersey. and we'll certainly see it again. we thank you for watching. we're always on here at abcnews.com. "nightline" is later. and for diane and all of us here at abc news, have a good evening, america. i'll see you tomorrow on "good morning america." tonight the face book factor. a $1 billion earnings report that still isn't good enough for wall street. we're live to ask why. >> and an apology from twitter.

another big social network explains why nobody in the world was able to tweet today for hours. >> there is video of a suspected hit and run driver. he left the scene of an accident today, leaving two children behind. and what is wrong with oakland's police radios? there are details on lapse that's occurred while the president was here. >> let's go this. >> mark zuckerberg was all smiles in may. tonight he may not be quite so thrilled after the first quarterly earnings report. >> good evening, facebook beat expectations but as your fifth grade teacher may say there is room for improvement. the stock has been falling in trading and ever since the stock went public, a downward slide, facebook is down nearly 30% since may. and we're live outside of the

head quarters to explain the problem. >> today was report card day. facebook made a profit of $297 million, excluding costs involved in the ipo. but it's future financial success going to depend on its ability to generate revenue online but on smart phones. >> facebook is under the gun to keep up with a moving target, qlusers are using facebook on smart phones. and that is where it has to move advertising to make money. one idea is called sponsored stories. ads based on what people say they like. mark zuckerberg gave details on how it's doing. >> by the end of june, sponsored stories was at a rate of $1 million in revenue. >> and this