welcome to "world news." tonight the exploding scandal. the blockbuster investigation. a va hospital shows treatment of veterans even worse than we thought. so bad tonight there's a call for a criminal probe. dangerous lightning amid floods tonight and pounding hail. and watch this. an expert storm chaser filmed the moment he is hit by a bolt of lightening. and desperate hours. a one day old baby stolen by a woman posing as a nurse. we'll tell you how strangers on facebook put the missing baby back in her mother's arms. good evening to you on this wednesday night.

we begin with the new outrage over the treatment of veterans at va hospitals in this country. tonight everyone pouring over a scathing new report which makes it clear the break down of care goes further than we knew. abc's national correspondent jim avila breaking down what we're learning tonight. >> reporter: it's official, the president and the va secretary got the answer they did not want to hear. cooking the books with secret lists that hid long delays to see doctors at the nation's veterans hospitals is not just a phoenix problem. the inspector general today finds the corruption is "systematic throughout veterans hospitals." and worse, because of the long wait to see va doctors, veterans are at "risk of being lost or forgotten and may never obtain their requested or required primary care," putting those who served america in danger just like survivors claimed. >> they are at fault.

why my dad is dead. >> reporter: it's a damning report. president obama called extremely troubling. but short of firing va secretary eric shinseki who issued a statement himself saying "the findings are reprehensible," ignoring calls today for him to resign immediately. >> it's time for secretary shinseki to step down. >> he has to be held accountable. >> if he does not resign, for the president to ask for his resignation. >> reporter: some in congress now calling for a criminal investigation for the fbi to enter the probe, which has now spread to 42 va medical facilities across the country. the focus still on phoenix where 1700 veterans were found to be on those secret lists. some facing an average 115 day, that's a three and a half month wait to see a doctor. insiders including whistle blower dr. samuel foote

tell abc news they personally witnessed patients died. >> reporter: do you believe people died because of the delay. >> one of them was having chest pain and couldn't get in to see his doctor and died of a heart attack. draw your own conclusions on that. >> reporter: the next critical phase of the investigation, who ordered those schedulers to create the secret list and how high up the chain does the scheme go. diane. >> again the news still coming in. thank you. we move on next because millions of americans are making their way home tonight. and facing a series of obstacle courses. across the country. in some places flash floods. powerful storms and others, twisters and lightening and hail so strong it could crash the windshield. abc's ryan owens is tracking it all tonight. >> reporter: inundating rains are flooding parts of the south tonight, swamping streets near new orleans. tornado and flash flood watches and warnings are posted throughout the area. one confirmed twister touched

down here in garyville, louisiana. >> it scared the devil out of me. >> reporter: winds of 105 miles an hour blew a tree into this man's house. >> boom, boom, boom! that was it. it shook the house where i'm living at. it shook that house. >> reporter: in the last 24 hours, there have been more than 160 severe weather reports across the eastern half of this country. none more dramatic than this lightning strike caught by storm chaser scott sheppard. look at the cloud of dust that rises from this south dakota road. sheppard's nearly fatal mistake. he had his arm hanging out of the car window to shoot video when he became the story! >> the bolt came down, completely disabled the vehicle. it exploded the asphalt around our truck, and shot it maybe 40 feet into the air, i received quite a hefty shock in my arm. >> reporter: he wasn't hurt, but check out what it did to the asphalt. the electricity in a lightning

bolt is the equivalent of 2.5 million car batteries. every year an average of 22 million cloud to ground lightning flashes hit the us. most lightning injuries occur between noon and 4:00 in the afternoon. take from this experienced storm chaser. tornadoes aren't the only danger this time of year. >> when there's lightning around, there's no safe place outside. you have got to be in a vehicle. learn a lesson from me. do not hang your arm outside of it. >> reporter: ryan owens, abc news, dallas. we head to california. a new eyewitness is coming forward about the moments when a gunman opened fire in santa barbara. and what does he say he wishes he had done. abc's cecilia vega is back on t story. >> reporter: classes at the university of california santa barbara are back in session. a day after thousands turned out

for an emotional memorial remembering those six killed and 13 wounded in that deadly rampage here. >> my name is richard marten >> reporter: the father of victim christopher michaels-martinez a future lawyer an only child leading the crowd in resounding chant. >> not one more. >> not one more. >> reporter: in that crowd, freshman patrick eggert who came face to face with the killer elliot rodger and lived now telling his story for the first time. >> i didn't hear it coming or anybody say look out or anything. >> reporter: patrick was riding his bike and then out of nowhere a black bmw plowed into him and his friend nick. >> reporter: what's the one thing standing out in your mind? >> that my friend nick is alive. when i was riding out to him. i didn't expect him to be alive. >> reporter: nick pasichuke flew 50 feet in the air he's still in the hospital today with two broken legs. patrick walked away with just minor injuries. are you angry?

>> it's hard for me to say that when families are, you know, burying their loved ones right now or taking care of patients with gunshot wounds. >> reporter: as for this face still haunting this community, there's one thing patrick wishes he could have done. >> i wish i could have talked to him before he did it and maybe say something to make it seem less worth it. >> reporter: he just wants to recover and get back to life. now a sense of normalcy just beginning to happen here. you can see on the campus main gate. there's a black banner hanging and university officials tells us there been counselors all week long. >> all right. thank you. now to news making words from president obama about america's fight against terror around the world. today at west point he announced a major change in foreign policy. a plan relying less on the u.s. military and creates an

international partnership to help nations fight extremists within their borders. >> america must always lead on the world stage. if we don't, no one else will. u.s. military action cannot be the only or even primary component of our leadership in every instance. just because we have the best hammer does not mean that every problem is a nail. >> the president said he will not send american forces to syria. now to the bold gamma by the wife of the nba owner donald sterling. she says she is going to sell the team in the next six days the clup -- clippers, while her husband careens back and forth. abc's ryan smith investigates the new twist tonight. >> reporter: donald and shelley sterling clashing with each other as the future of their los angeles clippers hangs in the balance. overnight donald sterling rejecting the nba's charge to

oust him from the nba ownership ranks for his racist rant calling the nba's process for hearing his case "sham proceedings" and his lawyer telling espn sterling will fight to the bloody end. >> i don't think there is anything donald sterling can say to the nba owners to convince them to let him keep the team. >> reporter: at the same time his wife shelly today reportedly starting the first round of bidding on the team. the relationship more confusing more than ever. something shelly sterling clarified during an interview with barbara walters. >> i'm still married but estranged. we have more of a business arrangement in our relationship than we have of a love relationship. >> reporter: perspective buyers of the clippers include a who is who of billionaires and stars to microsoft steve bomber to magic johnson and oprah. team owners should have its privileges far beyond what the super fan can do. an nba owner can fly on the plane with the players, eat with the team and access the locker room.

but for donald sterling. those privileges may be coming to an end. ryan smith, abc news, new york. and all day long a nation has been remembering a force of nature. an american original. maya angelou died at the age of 86. she would have written, a phenomenal woman. the people's poet and her life a kind of blue print for rising up in the face of the impossible. abc's byron pitts looks back. >>. ♪ there is no hiding place down here ♪ >> reporter: most of us hope to live one good life. maya angelou lived many. >>. ♪ i went to the rocks to hide my face, and the rock cried out no hiding place ♪ . >> reporter: with that tenor's voice -- her gift for words -- >> the horizon leans forward offering you space to place new steps of change. >> reporter: she brought chills to a nation at president clinton's inauguration in '93. >> ms. calypso herself maya angelou.

>> reporter: she brought audiences to their feet with her voice as the calypso singer. she spoke six languages. won three grammys, author of 36 books. it was her best seller. in 1969. an instant classic. i know why the cage bird sings. that made her not just a voice for black america but all who know struggle. >> ♪ i will go i shall go ♪ ♪ i'll see what the end is going to be ♪ >> reporter: the end came at 86. a life that would have crushed a lesser spirit. at 7 she was raped by a mother's boyfriend when she told the man was murdered. >> i thought my voice killed him. that was my 7.5-year-old logic. so i stopped speaking. >> reporter: she did not speak for five years. amidst suffering in silence,

it was her mother who helped her find her voice. >> she said i think you are the greatest woman i ever met. and i thought she's right. suppose i really am somebody. >> reporter: a somebody hurt by name but always called upon hope instead. >> but still like dust, i'll rise. >> reporter: for nearly a half century she helped people rise, black and white, men and women. history will remember her words all with the heart will cling to their meaning. byron pitts abc news, new york. >> one final gift. her last tweet which was listen to yourself and in that quietude. you might hear the voice of god. sglmplgs next, taken the noe newborn girl taken from the hospital and the strangers on facebook and the police delivering the baby back into her mother's arms. the middle school teacher has students learning and singing in their seats.

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next tonight, it was just this week a baby girl was kidnapped from a hospital and a group of young detectives came to her rescue. the search ignited after the day old infant was snatched by a woman dressed as a nurse. abc's linzie janis tells us about the miraculous coincidence. >> reporter: in the arms of this officer, one day old baby victoria being returned to her parents after she was kidnapped just 3 hours earlier. it was monday evening, the new parents were cuddling in their hospital room in quebec. that's when police say this woman, dressed as a nurse came in. according to the baby's uncle said she needed to take the baby for a test. 13 minutes later, the hospital called police who beamed the security camera image of the woman across the city while dad posted these photos asking for help. that's when this group of

20-somethings saw the alert on facebook. they were so moved they decided to search. hitting the road. when impossible as it may seem, one of them looked more closely at the suspect's picture and realized it was actually an old neighbor who lived here. a call to police and moments later, officers swooped in and rescued the baby. >> we saw the baby and we can touch. it was the best moment in my life. we were crying. >> reporter: here in the u.s. many hospitals fit newborns with these electronic tags so if a baby were to be carried out of the maternity ward, an alarm would instantly sound. >> alarm. main entrance. >> the baby's get a tag. >> reporter: today nurses telling us that the bracelets like the one here on the baby's ankle trigger automatic locks on the ward's doors. the system works since the early 1980's there have been just 132

infants abducted from hospitals nationwide. the canadian hospital where baby victoria was born did not have the same level of security. in a letter on facebook her parents saying thank you and warning other parents always ask questions, even of those in uniform. writing i would not like anyone else to live this. linzie janis, abc news, new york. and when we come back, we know weather, tornados and firenados and sharknados. but something we've never seen before. but can you guess what this is? coming up in our "instant index." and it feels like your life revolves around your symptoms, ask your gastroenterologist about humira adalimumab. humira has been proven to work for adults who have tried other medications but still experience the symptoms of moderate to severe crohn's disease. in clinical studies, the majority of patients on humira saw significant symptom relief, and many achieved remission.

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with modern day robin hood. who has a city on a treasure hunt. someone is hiding envelopes stuffed with money across san francisco leaving a trail of tweets as clues. sometimes a small amount. other times, hundreds of dollars. tonight the anonymous millionaire strikes again. this time lucky winners popping up 45 southeast in san jose. one envelope found on this fire hydrant. the winner found the hidden cash live on tv. and this image in from portugal. it looks like a tornado. moves like a tornado. but eyewitnesss say it's actually a tower of bugs. the little insects that look like mosquitos. but they are more than 1,000 feet high and experts aren't sure if it is a column of bugs. bugnado? tell us what you think. if you are a professional musician how do you fight back? with your weapon. listen.

♪ >> bach would be very upset. >> bach would be so upset he would get out his violin in frustration. they were told their instruments were not welcome in the overhead bins on a commercial flight. so he staged a musical protest. they missed the flight, but u.s. airways did book them on a later flight and welcomed their violin. we have confirmation tonight. a big headline from apple. a huge impact on how we listen to music. the company confirmed the reports leaked three weeks ago. it plans to expand its popular itune service with the $3 billion purchase of beats electronics. it will give apple the access to headphones and the streaming music service and beats cofounders rapper dr. dre and jimmy will join apple in undisclosed roles. up next, the middle school teacher who has kids learning and singing a very different note.

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finally tonight, as the school year winds down, we know the push to get more students to study more math and science. you'll meet a teacher who has unlocked a secret way to take kids to the top. abc and the teacher who is america strong. >> reporter: this music video is a science class. ♪ >> reporter: these 5th graders rapping about pluto in the solar system. ♪ pluto is a planet >> reporter: and these high schoolers about the black plague. it's not your average lesson plan but the man behind it, stanford educated tom mcfadden, is no ordinary teacher.u! his big idea, take the hip hop he's long loved and use it to

get his students hooked on science. >> they're like going to bed and thinking about these lyrics and going over in your head. they're not just lyrics. their information. >> reporter: he wrote grants to fund the videos and raising nearly $13,000 on kick-starter. his duty, building up the confidence to write their own songs. watch this kid improvising on the spot. ♪ let me hear you recognize >> reporter: and it's a hit as students rap about roselyn franklin. the woman whose contribution to the discovery of dna was overshadowed and been viewed online more than 150,000 times. >> usually i forget things. i don't have a very good memory. but this i remember very well. >> reporter: getting an entire school hooked on singing about dna and giving them a chance to shine. >> you get to show people you can be something and you can do something.

>> reporter: now that's america strong. abc news, oakland, california. >> and thank you so much for watching. we're always here at abcnews.com. "nightline" later. and we'll see you right back here again tomorrow night. good night. >> did this woman choke a student at school? >> and the death of poet

maya angelou and people who knew her best. >> and from san francisco school of ballet, dancers get a chance to put talents to the test. >> i was here, probably five minutes. he had it. >> a mad dash for cash, a local millionaire sends these twitter followers on a mission for money. good evening, thanks for joining us. >> how fun is this? the hidden cash social immediate ra give away moves from san francisco to the south bay. money-filled envelopes were located by eager twitter followers. abc7 news reporter vic lee is hiv. did you find the cash? >> not enough to retire, dan. i'll be working for a long time just like you. no. actually all we found were

frenzied crowds of people trying to find money. and when we're on the freeway, there are some of them who are driving crazy, i mean dangerously, weaving in and out, and out of control. by the way, one envelope stuffed with cash was taped. that post next to the gates of the garbage bin storage area of the olive garden restaurant. >> i looked out on 8th. oh, man. >> they were ready to chase the money. it was free. the catch? find it. it started when the sun was coming up. hidden cash head s-- said he wa showing some love. >> it would be nice. >> i got six kids. maybe i can put them through school, buy them a