next. i'm kristen sze. >> i'm dan ashley. see you again in a half tonight, as we come on the air in the west, the new and deadly fire exploding in size. the wall of flames burning out of control. two firefighters killed, battling what's now called the carr fire. more than a hundred homes and structures the destroyed. a hospital evacuating its neonatal unit. we're on the scene. in the northeast tonight, the severe storms sweeping through just as millions now drive home from work. also developing as we come on the air tonight, the new report accusing cbs chairman and ceo les moonves of sexual misconduct. one of the most powerful men in hollywood, what moonves is now saying tonight, and we hear from the reporter at "the new yorker" who broke the story, ronan farrow. also tonight, abc news learning that michael cohen now says the president did, in fact, know about that meeting with the russians in trump tower before the meeting happened.

the frightening bus crash. newly released images made public. the driver speeding out of control. authorities now revealing what went wrong. the abc news exclusive. the fbi now involved in that search for a missing college student, and tonight, the mother whose daughter disappeared breaking her silence amid a new timeline now emerging. and the spectacular blood moon. the longest lunar eclipse of the century and it's happening now. matt gutman is standing by ready to show you. good evening, and it's great to have you with us here on a very busy friday night, and we begin with the growing danger at this hour. the fire fight under way. as we come on the air, the fire doubling in size in just the last 24 hours. two firefighters have now been killed. the carr fire in northern california sweeping through neighborhoods, more than 100 homes and buildings now destroyed. that wind and heat with the fire blowing out windows and fire trucks.

the fire destroying street after street, and you can see homes burning really on both sides of the street there. the fire and smoke spinning into what looks like a tornado, a fire whirl. waves of people forced to evacuate already in this, and word of that hospital also getting patients out. it's only growing at this hour, and the fire chief says his crew is battling the flames while they mourn the deaths of two of their own already. abc's kayna whitworth on the scene in redding tonight. >> reporter: tonight, a deadly line of flames scorching a city of 90,000 people. the carr fire burning a hole through redding, california. >> got about a 100-foot wall of flame coming down onto the very south end of snow lane. >> reporter: residents forced out after the fire jumped the sacramento river. roads choked with cars trying to escape. the sky full of flames. >> it's jumping the street. >> reporter: one hospital evacuating its neonatal unit and even a shelter had to evacuate after flames got too close. our affiliate krcr forced to flee mid-broadcast.

>> uh. right now we are being evacuated. >> reporter: the fire, fueled by high winds and triple-digit temperatures overpowering crews. >> 30-year veterans who have been doing this all of their life have never seen fire behavior like this. >> reporter: those winds creating fire tornadoes. >> wow! >> reporter: strong enough to blow out the windows of emergency vehicles. two firefighters losing their lives. >> the struggle now is we're mourning as we battle. >> reporter: three more firefighters and several civilians suffering serious burns. daylight revealing the destruction. gas lines hissing in neighborhoods. more than a hundred homes and structures damaged or destroyed. >> i drove up before my mom and dad, and this is what i saw. their house, flat. >> reporter: erin clarke's parents' home, reduced to its foundation. >> everything we have ever owned, our pictures, everything. everything.

>> reporter: and in southern california, the cranston fire, burning more than 11,000 acres. our will carr is there. >> the cranston fire's path of destruction is extensive. at least six homes have been destroyed. take a wide look, this home burned to the ground. the only thing still standing? that gun case and the chimney in the corner. >> reporter: more than 1,300 firefighters battling that blaze, officials say it was deliberately set. >> and kayna with us live tonight from redding. kayna, 37,000 people already evacuated, and there could be more evacuations coming tonight? >> reporter: yeah, david. and part of the reason that so many people are in danger is because of these extreme and erratic winds that are violently pushing the fire through these neighborhoods. look at this. all that's left standing here is this garage door, and you can still see the fire smoldering back there, but the winds are also bringing down trees like this one, and firefighters i spoke with say they have never seen fire behavior quite like this. they are calling it unprecedented, david. >> just a disastrous scene behind you. kayna, thank you.

meteorologist rob marciano also there in northern california monitoring the conditions. the triple-digit heat, the wind. we're also following the line of severe storms moving through the east at this hour as millions head home. rob, let's begin out west tonight. a tough night ahead. >> reporter: yeah. those winds making things so difficult for firefighters and the heat barely relenting. the core of the heat zone has shifted farther to the east, but triple-digit heat across the fire zone, and we have more watches and warnings posted. the northwest is going to heat up again sunday and monday. it is not going away any time soon. severe weather again across the high plains. tornado warnings for colorado, and big storms to the northeast right now. severe watch up there until 10:00 as that front moves through a rough friday evening commute for just about everybody on the northeast, david. >> rob marciano in california for us as well tonight. rob, our thanks to you. the other major headline developing as we came on the air tonight. the report just out from "the new yorker," involving one of

the most powerful men in hollywood, ceo chairman of cbs les moonves under fire. and we hear from the reporter who broke the story, ronan farrow. here's abc's chief national affairs correspondent, tom llamas. >> reporter: tonight les moonves, one of most powerful men in hollywood, under investigation by his own company, cbs, after allegations of sexual misconduct. the accusations from six women from encounters that happened 20 years ago that range from inappropriate kissing to sexual assault, surfacing tonight in a "new yorker" expose by ronan farrow. in the article actress and writer illeana douglas tells farrow, "what happened to me was a sexual assault, and then i was fired for not participating." she recounts an incident in moonves' office. moonves' office. "in a millisecond, he got one arm over me, pinning me," she said. moonves was violently kissing her, holding her down on the couch with her arms above her head. producer christine peters recounts a similar experience in the article saying moonves told her during the meeting "this is really great," she recalled.

"then he just put a hand up my skirt." >> each and every woman in this story told me that they were still frightened of les moonves and said that they were only speaking about these harrowing experiences, which in the words of more than one woman in this story, included sexual assaults. they said they were doing that to protect other women. >> reporter: back in november moonves was asked how his company was changing in the wake of the me too movement. cbs had already fired news anchor charlie rose for allegations of sexual misconduct. >> i think we've been surprised by the things that we have seen, but i think it's important that a company's culture will not allow for this. and that's the thing that's far reaching. >> reporter: news of the accusations against moonves sent cbs stock into a freefall, dropping as much as 7% at one point. its worst daily performance in years. moonves who greenlighted hit

shows like "everybody loves raymond," "survivor," and "csi" is credited with turning around cbs after taking a leadership role in 1995. >> thank you. >> reporter: in 2004, he married one of his employees, cbs host julie chen. moonves who is 68 is one of the highest paid ceos in the country. last year earning a pay package worth $70 million. tonight, in a statement to "the new yorker," moonves says, throughout my time at cbs, we have promoted a culture of respect and opportunity for all employees and have consistently found success elevating women to top executive positions, but i always understood and respected and abided by the principle that no means no, and i have never misused my position to harm or hinder anyone's career. >> and tom llamas with us here tonight, and we took note today that cbs was out with a statement even before the story broke. they clearly knew this was coming, and they said, quote, all allegations of personal misconduct are to be taken seriously, and about the two women you mentioned, what is cbs

saying? >> reporter: we have a lot of statements coming in. first, illeana douglas, the writer and actress, in a statement cbs says that moonves acknowledges trying to kiss her, but he denies any characterization of sexual assault, intimidation or retaliatory action, and as for the producer, christine peters says he denies any alleged touch organize inappropriate conduct. >> as we came on, we were hearing from les moonves' wife, tv personality, julie chen. >> reporter: i have that statement. it just came in, david. this is what she writes. she says, i have known my husband, leslie moonves since the late '90s. i have been married to him for almost 14 years. he is a good man, and a loving father, a devoted husband and inspiring corporate leader. she goes on to say, he has always been a kind, decent and moral human being. i fully support my husband and stand behind him, end of statement. >> tom llamas on the breaking headline tonight. tom, thank you. we're going to turn now to president trump and his long-time fixer and lawyer, michael cohen. abc news has learned tonight that michael cohen now says that president trump did, in fact, know about the meeting with

russians in the trump tower before the election, and that he knew about the meeting before it happened, after dirt on hillary clinton was promised from a foreign adversary. this will likely interest robert mueller who by the way was photographed waiting at the airport in d.c. on the left. not far away behind him there, you see donald trump jr. standing in line. tonight, mueller's office issuing a statement after that photo, and here's abc's chief justice correspondent, pierre thomas. >> reporter: tonight, president trump fiercely denying the explosive allegation from his former lawyer and fixer, michael cohen. multiple sources tell abc news cohen claims trump knew in advance about that infamous june 2016 trump tower meeting. his son, donald junior, son-in-law jared kushner and campaign chairman paul manafort, sitting down with a russian lawyer with ties to the kremlin. trump jr. had been promised high level and sensitive documents that would incriminate hillary clinton as part of russia and its government's support for mr. trump. the president's son has said

repeatedly his father didn't learn of the meeting until well after the election. >> did you tell your father anything about this? >> no. it was such a nothing. there was nothing to tell. i mean, i wouldn't have even remembered it until you start scouring through this stuff. it was literally just a wasted 20 minutes, which was a shame. >> reporter: the president also insists he was in the dark. >> did you know at the time that they had the meeting? >> no, i didn't know anything about the meeting. >> but, you know, you gave -- >> it must have been a very important -- a very, it must have been a very unimportant meeting because i never even heard about it. >> reporter: when news of the meeting broke, trump jr. released a misleading statement, implying it was about russian adoptions. team trump initially said, the president had nothing to do with that either. >> the statement that was released on saturday was released by donald trump jr., and i'm sure in consultation with his lawyers. the president wasn't involved in that. >> reporter: it was later revealed the president actually dictated his son's misleading statement. the white house forced to backtrack. >> he weighed in, offered a suggestion like any father would do. >> reporter: today's allegations mark a major escalation in the

standoff between the president and cohen, his long-time confidante. >> i always liked michael, and he's a good person. >> reporter: the president's new attorney once praised cohen. >> the man is an honest, honorable lawyer. >> reporter: but now? >> he's been lying all week or he's been lying for years. there's nobody i know that knows him that hasn't warned me if his back is up against the wall, he'll lie like crazy because he's lied all his life. >> reporter: on twitter, the president ripped into his former fixer saying, "sounds to me like someone is trying to make up stories in order to get himself out of an unrelated jam." one person keenly watching all this play out, special counsel robert mueller, and for now, he is not saying anything. but the world did catch that rare glimpse of him today sitting at a d.c. airport, ironically just feet away from donald trump jr. >> a lot of people looking at that photo on twitter and on social media late today. pierre thomas with us live tonight from washington. pierre, sources say that michael cohen may be actually willing to share his story with the special counsel? >> reporter: that's right, david. cohen is under investigation by

federal prosecutors in new york, and our sources tell us he is likely to cooperate with them, and now he may be willing to speak to robert mueller too. about that photo at the airport, mueller's team says he was unaware donald trump jr. was there, david. >> pierre thomas with us on a friday night. pierre, thank you. president trump meanwhile choosing to focus on the economy today, and it is a bright spot for the president and the nation. coming before cameras outside the white house, he announced a strong quarterly report promising even better numbers to come. he did promise during the campaign he would get gdp growth to 4%, and tonight it's there. will it stay there? he says yes, but he says a couple of factors that led to this, and it does involve american farmers. abc's terry moran at the white house tonight. >> reporter: the economy is soaring and so is president trump. >> i am thrilled to announce that in the second quarter of this year, the united states economy grew at the amazing rate of 4.1%. >> reporter: it's the best

number since 2014. americans are spending more. businesses are investing more. the trump tax cuts and massive deregulation having a positive impact. >> these numbers are very, very sustainable. this isn't a one-time shot. i happen to think we're going to do extraordinarily well in our next report next quarter. i think it's going to be outstanding. >> reporter: but take a closer look at today's numbers and you see shadows. exports are way up, but that's partly because businesses and farmers raced to sell their goods and crops before china imposed tariffs in trump's trade war. soybean exports, for example, soared more than 50%. farmers like john kiefner in illinois, now worried about what comes next. >> i have to try to make do with less expenses. i want to save as much money as possible because i'm unsure about the future. >> reporter: so despite today's rosy news, for many, it's still an uncertain economy. >> all right. so let's get to terry moran live at the white house again tonight, and the president

promised strong growth will be, quote, very sustainable and he said it's not a one-time shot, but a lot will depend on the trade tensions. the president's tariffs and the retaliation from our trading partners. >> reporter: that's the big uncertainty right now. how long do the trade wars go on? how do they end? if president trump succeeds in opening new markets, there will be a lot more growth. he will have redefined how presidents do economic policy. if however, those retaliatory tariffs keep piling on, there will be a lot more pain out there, david. >> to be continued. terry moran, thanks all week. and overseas tonight, a promise kept from the summit between president trump and kim jong-un. what's believed to be the remains of u.s. servicemen killed during the korean war arriving from north korea at a south korean military base today. 55 small boxes draped in u.n. flags were carried to waiting vans. they will soon go to hawaii to be identified. the armstice ending the korean conflict was signed 65 years ago today. there is still much more ahead on "world news tonight" this friday. the abc news exclusive.

after the fbi joined the search for that missing college student, tonight we now hear from the mother whose daughter disappeared. she is breaking her silence amid a timeline now emerging and what we have now learned tonight. the carjacking escape. a 10-year-old boy running from the car. the suspect driving off though with his 5-year-old brother still inside. what we know about this. and tonight, the longest lunar eclipse of the century. the spectacular blood moon seen around the world. matt gutman is standing by to show you tonight, and it's really something. omething. i was just finishing a ride. i felt this awful pain in my chest. i had a pe blood clot in my lung. i was scared. i had a dvt blood clot. having one really puts you in danger of having another. my doctor and i chose xarelto®. xarelto®. to help keep me protected. xarelto® is a latest-generation blood thinner that's... proven to treat and reduce the risk of dvt or pe blood clots from happening again. in clinical studies, almost 98% of patients on

xarelto® did not experience another dvt or pe. xarelto® works differently. warfarin interferes with at least 6 of your body's natural blood-clotting factors. xarelto® is selective, targeting just one critical factor. don't stop taking xarelto® without talking to your doctor, as this may increase risk of blood clots. while taking, you may bruise more easily, or take longer for bleeding to stop. xarelto® can cause serious, and in rare cases, fatal bleeding. it may increase your risk of bleeding if you take certain medicines. get help right away for unexpected bleeding or unusual bruising. do not take xarelto® if you have an artificial heart valve or abnormal bleeding. before starting, tell your doctor about all planned medical or dental procedures and any kidney or liver problems. learn all you can... to help protect yourself from another dvt or pe. talk to your doctor about xarelto®.

and back pain made it hard to sleep and get up on time. then i found aleve pm. the only one to combine a safe sleep aid, plus the 12 hour pain relieving strength of aleve. i'm back. aleve pm for a better am. next tonight here, the abc news exclusive. the mother of that missing college student in iowa now breaking her silence about her daughter's disappearance. here's abc's alex perez. >> reporter: as investigators in iowa expand their search for 20-year-old mollie tibbetts tonight, for the first time since she vanished, mollie's mother speaking out. >> you can't give up hope. if it were me that were missing, mollie wouldn't give up hope. >> reporter: she says she knew something wasn't right when mollie didn't show up to work.

>> it was panic because that is so out of mollie's character. >> reporter: the university of iowa student was last spotted going for a run in brooklyn, iowa july 18th. investigators believe she returned home that night. but are unclear about what happened next. the fbi zeroing in on mollie's digital footprint. critical information from the social apps she used including gps data collected from her fitbit. authorities now widening their investigation, searching a hog farm and other properties near deep river, iowa. david, those searches have turned up empty. investigators say they have ruled out mollie's boyfriend and siblings as suspects. her family says they will not give up hope, david. >> alex perez tonight. thank you, alex. when we come back here, the emergency landing on chicago's lake shore drive. details coming in now. and the stunning event that has millions around the world looking to the sky tonight. matt gutman standing by with the spectacular images already coming in. man 1: this is my body of proof.

woman 1: proof of less joint pain... woman 2: ...and clearer skin. woman 3: this is my body of proof. man 2: proof that i can fight psoriatic arthritis... woman 4: ...with humira. woman 5: humira targets and blocks a specific source of inflammation that contributes to both joint and skin symptoms. it's proven to help relieve pain, stop further irreversible joint damage, and clear skin in many adults. humira is the #1 prescribed biologic for psoriatic arthritis. avo: humira can lower your ability to fight infections, including tuberculosis. serious, sometimes fatal infections and cancers, including lymphoma, have happened; as have blood, liver, and nervous system problems, serious allergic reactions, and new or worsening heart failure. before treatment, get tested for tb. tell your doctor if you've been to areas where certain fungal infections are common, and if you've had tb, hepatitis b, are prone to infections, or have flu-like symptoms or sores. don't start humira if you have an infection. woman 6: need more proof? woman 7: ask your rheumatologist about humira. man 1: what's your body of proof? i have to tell you

something incredible. capital one has partnered with hotels.com to give venture cardholders 10 miles on every dollar they spend at thousands of hotels. all you have to do is pay with this at hotels.com/venture. 10 miles per dollar? that is incredible. brrrrr! i have the chills. because you're so excited? because ice... is cold. and because of all those miles. obviously. what's in your wallet? obviously. we carry flowers that signifyn why we want to end the disease. and we walk so that one day, there will be a white flower for alzheimer's first survivor. join the fight at alz.org/walk. dinner date...meeting his parents dinner date. why did i want a crest 3d white smile? so i used crest. crest 3d white removes... ...95% of surface stains in just 3 days... ...for a whiter smile... that will win them over. crest. healthy, beautiful smiles for life.

to the index of other news, the carjacking escape in bridgeport, connecticut. a car stolen with two young boys inside. a 10-year-old jumping out the door. his 5-year-old brother still inside. he was let out a few blocks later. police did arrest the suspect. the terrifying bus ride in milwaukee. newly released video shows the out-of-control bus speeding through that intersection, smashing through a building at marquette university. the driver accidently accelerated. several passengers were injured. the driver has been suspended. and the emergency landing at chicago's lake shore drive tonight. the classic plane losing power with two people on board. the pilot actually flew under a foot bridge and then saw a police car. the pilot then decided that was a good spot to land. everyone survived and the police say the worst thing that happened was the pilot held up traffic. when we come back here tonight, the spectacular event in the sky playing out all over the world right now. matt gutman is ready to show you what he has seen already. already. already.

with best in-class towing 2018 ford f-150. best in-class payload and best in-class torque the f-150 lineup has the capability to get big things to big places --bigtime. and things just got bigger. f-150 is now motor trend's 2018 truck of the year. this is the new 2018 ford f-150. it doesn't just raise the bar, pal. it is the bar. your mornings were made for better things than psoriatic arthritis. as you and your rheumatologist consider treatments, ask if xeljanz xr is right for you. xeljanz xr is a once-daily pill for psoriatic arthritis. taken with methotrexate or similar medicines, it can reduce joint pain, swelling, and significantly improve physical function. xeljanz xr can lower your ability to fight infections, including tuberculosis. serious, sometimes fatal infections,

lymphoma, and other cancers have happened. don't start xeljanz xr if you have an infection. tears in the stomach or intestines, low blood cell counts, and higher liver tests and cholesterol levels have happened. your doctor should perform blood tests before you start and while taking xeljanz xr, and monitor certain liver tests. tell your doctor if you were in a region where fungal infections are common, and if you have had tb, hepatitis b or c, or are prone to infections. xeljanz xr can reduce the symptoms of psoriatic arthritis. don't let another morning go by without talking to your rheumatologist about xeljanz xr.

but prevagen helps your brain rheumwith an ingredient originally discovered... in jellyfish. in clinical trials, prevagen has been shown to improve short-term memory. prevagen. the name to remember. but allstate actually helps you drive safely... with drivewise. it lets you know when you go too fast... ...and brake too hard. with feedback to help you drive safer. giving you the power to actually lower your cost. unfortunately, it can't do anything about that. now that you know the truth... are you in good hands? for my constipation, my doctor recommended i switch to miralax. stimulant laxatives forcefully stimulate the nerves in your colon. miralax is different. it works with the water in your body. unblocking your system naturally. miralax. now available in convenient

single-serve mix-in pax. and finally tonight here, we all remember the great american eclipse that was almost one year ago now, and tonight a spectacular event seen around the world. the longest total lunar eclipse of the century. abc's matt gutman tonight. matt, you and i were on the air almost a year ago for that great american eclipse. that was really something, but you're taking in quite a sight in hong kong. >> reporter: that was a treat, but this has been an hour and 40 minutes long of a celestial spectacular treat, and these diehards behind me have been here for every single minute of it. it's called the blood moon because it happens when the sun, the earth and moon perfectly align, and the rays of the sun

curve around the earth and only the red rays go through the atmosphere and hit the moon. that's what we have been seeing in these spectacular images from across the globe. in berlin, at the coliseum in rome. it has been a beautiful sight to behold. unfortunately back home in the u.s., we did not get to see the full glory of this eclipse, but rest assured, january 21, 2019, just a few months away, we'll get our next shot at a lunar eclipse, david. >> matt, thank you. and thank you for watching here on a friday night. i'm david muir. i'll see you later tonight for "20/20" and right back here on monday. good night. good night. house after house after

house gone. tonight live team coverage in shasta county on the wildfire that is not changing lives, it's claiming lives. >> i miss home. >> living in limbo. hear what it's like to pack up and run at a moment's notice. and the latest weather conditions near the carr fire right now. >> live where you live, this is abc 7 news. >> this fire is a long way from being done. >> what a workweek for firefighters. so tough, so long. and they're not taking the weekend off. i'm kristen sze. thanks for joining us, in for ama daetz today. >> and i'm dan ashley. this shasta county fire called the carr fire started on monday. now it's claim lead lives, injured firefighters and sent thousands of people running from their homes. >> this fire is scary to us. this is something we haven't seen before in the city. >> we need the take heed. evacuate, evacuate, evacuate.

>> 30,000 people in shasta county have already evacuated. close to 2,000 firefighters are trying to stop the flames from spreading. >> as i said two, have died, a fire inspect were the city of redding, identified today as jeremy stoke, and a privately hired bulldozer operator. >> and three marin county firefighters were burned yesterday on their faces, ears and hands, although they are expected to be okay. >> take a look at this now. we are just getting new video from sky 7 of the flames near redding. you can see the sheer scope of this fire, now bigger than the city of oakland. >> governor brown is requesting a presidential emergency declaration to get direct federal assistance for the fire. the governor has already declared a state of emergency for shasta county. >> we have live team coverage tonight with two reporters in shasta 125 county for you as well as abc 7 news weather anchor spencer christian, who is monitoring conditions on the fire lines. let's hear first from abc 7 news reporter laura anthony to get a sense, laura, of the destruction you're seeing.