hundreds of flights grounded again. tonight, how the airline is now explaining this. the message late today. saying, quote, weather and other external constraints are to blame. what the faa is now saying about that explanation. furious passengers stranded. tonight, the u.s. navy engineer and his wife accused of trying to sell secrets about nuclear-powered submarines to another unnamed country. authorities say encrypted files were hidden in a peanut butter sandwich, in a pack of gum. the tornado threat as we come on the air tonight. the city of chicago and surrounding areas under a tornado watch right now. already multiple reported tornadoes across several states. and the major snowstorm we're tracking, too. ginger zee is standing by. >> the missing 3-year-old boy w groceries in t that boy has been found alive and what authorities are now saying about the case. the attack on the capitol and never before heard audio. the interview with former president trump with our jonathan karl. months after the attack and how he describes the crowd that day. and tonight here, jon's reporting. this recorded message from then president trump, how many times did it take to get the president to tell those rioters to go home? also tonight, paul mccartney and the new headline about john lennon. and made in america is back tonight. the one thing made here that you've been cheering on without even knowing. good evening and it's great to start another week with all of you at home and we begin tonight with that deadly plane crash. that small plane smashing into homes and into a u.p.s. truck today outside san diego, in santee, california. the homes burned to the ground. emergency teams pulling seniors from a home. tonight, authorities say this has been deadly. they did not say who died. but u.p.s. confirming tonight the driver of their u.p.s. truck is among the dead. that plane crashing onto a u.p.s. delivery truck, spreading fire right down that street. a number of vehicles and homes turned into fire balls. those victims pulled from their burning homes. tonight, the charred outline of what's left of those homes. the debris spread for more than a block. thors authorities today describing it as a, quote, brutal scene. at least two people confirmed dead, including that driver. two others taken to the hospital. abc's will carr leading us off, he's on the scene in santee, california, near san diego. >> a plane hit -- oh, my god. >> reporter: tonight, the urgent search and rescue playing out throughout the fierce flames and thick smoke. >> it shook my whole entire -- oh, my god, i got to get out of here. >> reporter: a small twin-engine plane slamming into two homes and a delivery truck. exploding in a fireball just blocks away from a high school, in the city of santee, just outside of san diego. >> looks like two houses on fire right now and a u.p.s. truck. one of the houses, we got two residents out. the other house i'm not sure. and the u.p.s. driver's whereabouts are unknown at this time. >> there was also a u.p.s. driver out in the street getting ready to make his deliveries. the truck was just basically ripped open like a tin can. >> reporter: moments ago, authorities confirming at least two people killed. including that u.p.s. driver. several people rushed to the hospital. >> not to be too graphic, but it's a pretty brutal scene for our guys. we believe that the injuries are nonsurvivable. >> reporter: witnesses describing the terrifying scene. >> all i heard was a scream like, oh -- the airplane was just screeching, "eeeee." and i go, "okay, that's not normal." and i look up and boom. >> reporter: neighbors rushing in, rescuing an elderly man and woman from one of the homes. both suffering from burns. >> what i heard was a very loud bang and the house shook. >> reporter: images revealing the devastation. at least two homes nearly burned to the ground. >> just a horrific scene tonight. will carr is there and will, i know you're learning not only more about the investigation but more about that u.p.s. driver? >> reporter: that's right, david. wth authorities here, the big question tonight is why. you can see that u.p.s. truck, the charred remains behind me. it is right in front of those two homes. tonight, u.p.s. is offering its heartfelt broken heartedness for losing their employee. david? >> just a horrific scene playing out there. will carr leading us off. will, thank you. we turn now to the pandemic and one more sign that america may be turning the corner, the return of the boston marathon. and promising news tonight from drugmaker merck, submitting data to the fda on their covid pill. what their data shows. and there's news tonight about those booster shots from moderna and johnson & johnson. we could hear from the fda as early as this week. abc's trevor ault from boston tonight where they cheered on the marathon runners today and where they cheered a turn in this long pandemic, too. >> reporter: tonight, a symbol of hope in a nation eager to turn the corner on the pandemic. 18,000 determined athletes at the fist boston marathon in 2 1/2 years. >> we were pumped. we were excited to finally have it back and, you know, back to the way it used to be. >> reporter: thousands lining the streets to cheer them on. the field thinned down from years past for social distancing. each runner showing proof of vaccination or a negative test. >> i was supposed to run this last year. this is my 2020 race, for which i qualified years ago. so we had to wait awhile, but i'm glad to be here. >> reporter: the race coming as the country continues to make positive strides against the virus. cases, hospital admissions and deaths all trending down but health officials warn we have not yet crossed the finish line. that sea of read on the map marking areas that still have high transmission. >> i'd like to see it well below 10,000 and even much lower than that. but when you're at 95,000, that's still a situation where you have a high degree of dynamic circulation of virus in the community. >> reporter: still a green light for more vaccine booster shots is expected soon. an fda panel will meet thursday to review moderna and on friday a review of johnson & johnson booster shots, along with the potential for mixing different vaccines. and doctors could soon have a new weapon to help drive those hospitalization numbers down. today, merck asking for emergency authorization for the first anti-viral pill designed to fight covid. the company says in trials, the drug cut hospitalizations in half for people at risk for severe disease. merck's drug can be taken at home, four pills every 12 hours for five days. >> and it's about 50% effective at preventing hospitalization. but remember, the vaccine is virtually 99% effective at preventing hospitalization. you'd much rather prevent getting the illness than treating it once you've already gotten it. >> reporter: back in boston, physical therapist joy danaher has seen the struggle of those battling the virus. she says their perseverance inspired her to run today. >> they're the reason that i did this and that i finished, because, like i said, there were times i wanted to just stop and walk. >> reporter: but you couldn't. >> nope. >> reporter: because they couldn't. >> right. they can't. they have no choice. i had a choice and so -- i kept going. >> great to see the marathon back. trevor joins us now from boston. and trevor, once the fda meets later this week, if it authorizes these boosters for moderna and johnson & johnson, we know then the cdc gives the final green light. so what's the timeline we're looking at here? >> reporter: yeah, david, so, assuming the fda does give that authorization, a cdc panel will meet within days and the director can give her approval and we're expecting really to see more booster shots rolling out as early as the end of next week. david? >> i'm sure they're cheering on the runners and you, trevor ault. trevor, thanks for that report from boston tonight. we move on tonight to the travel nightmare for thousands of passengers after southwest airlines canceled more than 2,200 flights in just the past three days. stranded passengers again today. hours long lines at the denver airport just to reschedule flights. well, tonight here, the statement from southwest blaming, quote, weather and other external constraints. what the faa says about that. abc's gio benitez covers aviation for us. >> reporter: tonight, problems with southwest airlines flights causing an extraordinary mess at airports across the country. >> what we're seeing here at dallas love field airport is basically a domino effect from the weekend. >> reporter: fabricia's teenage daughter is trying to get from houston to miami to see her neurosurgeon. she has a mass on her brain. >> they did not handle it properly. they have no answers for you. they tell you that nothing we can do. >> reporter: since saturday, southwest airlines has canceled more than 2,200 flights, blaming the multiday mess on air traffic control issues and bad weather. today, adding, other external constraints. but the faa firing back, saying no faa air traffic staffing shortages have been reported since friday and that the issues some airlines are seeing are due to "aircraft and crews being out of place." we spoke with the head of the southwest pilots union, who says this is not a fight between the union and the company. this is because of bad staffing. >> until the company makes some changes in how they're doing business internally and scheduling our pilots, we're going to continue to see the problem. >> reporter: so, david, what can these passengers now expect? well, if the airline cancels your flight, you are entitled to a refund. david? >> all right, gio benitez following this for us. gio, thank you, as always. we're going to turn now to that alleged spy plot, a nuclear engineer for the u.s. navy and his wife now accused of attempting to sell secret u.s. submarine technology to a foreign country. allegedly hiding that information in a peanut butter sandwich and a pack of gum. here's our chief justice correspondent pierre thomas tonight. >> reporter: at first glance, they look like a typical suburban couple. but tonight, their neighbors are wondering if jonathan toebbe and his wife diana have betrayed their country, willing to sell some of the nation's most sensitive secrets about our most sophisticated nuclear submarines. >> i was shocked. you never know what's going on in people's homes. >> reporter: according to the fbi, the story begins in april 2020, when the couple reached out to an undisclosed country, allegedly pitching the elaborate scheme. at one point, writing, "please forward this letter to your military intelligence agency. this is not a hoax." allegedly up for sale? the design of the virginia class nuclear submarine, which utilizes the latest in stealth technology at a cost of $3 billion each. >> it's some of the most closely held technology and the deepest secrets the u.s. government has. >> reporter: toebbe was a nuclear edge engineer working at the u.s. navy with a high level national security clearance. several times over months, the fbi says, he allegedly left computer files at secret dropoff locations in west virginia, pennsylvania and virginia. his wife, an annapolis school teacher, at times allegedly serving as a lookout. in one drop, the couple allegedly hid an encrypted file in a peanut butter sandwich. in others, in a band-aid wrapper and chewing gum package. but it was all a sting orchestrated by the fbi after that undisclosed nation reached out to the u.s. if convicted, the couple faces up to life in prison and prosecutors are asking that they be held without bond, because the fbi believes they would flee. they may have the money to run. the fbi claims they were paid $100,000 as part of the scheme, david. >> pierre thomas and that annapolis neighborhood where they are stunned tonight. pierre, thank you. we turn next here to the missing 3-year-old boy we reported on here late last week, missing for four days, disappearing into the woods while his mother was putting the groceries in the house. that boy has now been found alive. and tonight, what authorities are now saying about the case. abc's marcus moore from texas. >> reporter: tonight, a moment of celebration in this texas town. 3-year-old christopher ramirez is finally home. his mother, araceli nunez, holding on tight to her son. christopher was fod morning after he was missing for four days. >> child was found alive. he is alive. he's thirsty. he's with his mother and he's going to the hospital. >> reporter: a landowner, tim halfin, found him in a thick wooded area five miles from his home after hearing about the missing boy during bible study. setting out to search for christopher on his own. >> i'm walking back down the pipeline toward where i live and i hear that noise. and now i'm saying, "christopher?" and then he responds. >> reporter: this image taken saturday of christopher reunited with his mom. i asked her about that moment. she calls his discovery a miracle. and tonight, the little boy who survived, who loves police officers and firefighters, is now the grimes county sheriff's office's newest member. >> it's my honor to pin him a badge, a junior deputy badge. >> reporter: david, the sheriff says this is not case closed, that federal and state investigators are still doing their work, but he maintains that he believes there was no foul play. david? >> we are just glad he is home and safe. marcus, thank you. we turn now to the attack on the capitol and to the never before heard audio. the interview with former president trump with our jonathan karl, months after the attack. and how he describes the crowd that day. and you'll remember the videotaped message then president trump at the white house telling rioters to go home. but how many takes before he actually said that? here's what jon has learned. >> reporter: as congress ramps up its investigation into the january 6th riot, we have learned more about what donald trump was doing during those fateful hours while his supporters attacked the capitol. in reporting my upcoming book, "betrayal: the final act of the trump show", i spoke to several people who were in contact with him as the riot was underway. they tell me trump was watching tv in his private dining room. he liked what he saw and boasted about the size of crowd. when i interviewed him months later, he spoke fondly -- even glowingly -- of that day, widely seen as one of the darkest in american history. so, you tweeted that night, "remember this day forever." what did you want people to remember about it? >> i was referring to numerous things, but also the main thing that -- look, until i saw what was going on, that was a very beautiful time with extremely loving and friendly people. the largest crowd i've ever spoken before, with tremendous spirit. and i'm referring to that. >> reporter: a very beautiful time with extremely loving and friendly people? that's certainly not the way members of congress saw it as they came under attack and had to barricade the doors. house republican leader kevin mccarthy had to be evacuated. i learned that it was as he fled that he called the president. according to a source familiar with the call, mccarthy pleaded, "i just got evacuated from the capitol. there were shots fired right off the house floor. you need to make this stop." the source said trump pushed back, repeating the lie his supporters embraced -- that the election was stolen. "they are just more upset than you, because they believe it more than you, kevin," he told . when trump finally released a video calling on the rioters to go home, he also praised them. >> we love you. you are very special. >> reporter: a source who was with trump when he made that video told me that trump recorded multiple versions that were deemed unacceptable by his aides, because he praised the rioters but he didn't tell them to go home. >> all right, so, let's get to jon karl tonight. jon, because those messages were recorded at the white house, i know the january 6th committee would like them as part of their investigation into that day, but do we know if they were even saved? >> reporter: david, we don't know if those video outtakes still exist, but i am told they were shot by the white house videographer and unless they were deleted, they are government property and exactly the kind of thing that the committee wants to see, evidence of trump's state of mind during the riot. >> jon karl tonight. jon, looking forward to your book. when we come back here, the tornado threat right now for chicago and the surrounding areas. and the reported tornadoes already in several states. ginger in a moment. in 2016, i was working at the amazon warehouse when my brother passed away. and a couple of years later, my mother passed away. after taking care of them, i knew that i really wanted to become a nurse. amazon helped me with training and tuition. today, i'm a medical assistant and i'm studying to become a registered nurse. in filipino: you'll always be in my heart. ♪ helping them discover their dreams is one of the best parts of being a parent. one of the most important is giving them ways to fulfill them. for over 150 years, generations have trusted the strength and stability of pacific life. because life insurance can help protect and provide for the financial futures of the ones we love. talk to a financial professional about pacific life. ♪ talk to a financial professional things you start when you're 45. coaching. new workouts. and screening for colon cancer. yep. the american cancer society recommends screening starting at age 45, instead of 50, since colon cancer is increasing in younger adults. i'm cologuard®. i'm convenient and find 92% of colon cancers... ...even in early stages. i'm for people 45 plus at average risk for colon cancer, not high risk. false positive and negative results may occur. ask your provider if cologuard is right for you. tonight here, the tornado threat right into the evening. the city of chicago and the surrounding areas under a threat right now. up to 18 reported tornadoes in three states in the past 24 hours. this from oklahoma. let's get right to chief meteorologist ginger zee tracking it all for us. hey, ginger. >> reporter: hey, david. at least four reported tornadoes in illinois already tonight and we've got more where that came from. two rounds of storms that will impact parts of indiana and southwest michigan, too. that goes for the next couple of hours. but we've got a whole other new storm to watch. this one bringing high winds in excess of 60 miles per hour, knocking semitrucks over on highway 395 in nevada. that's going to move east and bring one to two feet of snow, especially in some of the mountain ranges from wyoming through montana. david? >> all right, ginger, thank you. when we come back here tonight, paul mccartney trying to set the record straight. fisher investments is his'd different than other money managers. 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>> barbara singleton, ready to go, racing today with her daughter, beth. known as team babsie, making history tonight as the first daughter pushing her mother, running the marathon in a racing chair. they got the idea watching father and son dick and rick hoyt, who we have followed for years. they ran the boston marathon 32 times together. dick hoyt passed away just this year. beth wanted to know, where did they get their running chair? >> when i got home, i started typing in team hoyt, hoyt chairs, how to run. >> it turns out those chairs are made in dudley, massachusetts. the south bridge tool company. working with dick and rick hoyt for years. 60 workers in all. more than 800 running chairs sent all over the world. >> hi, david. >> co-owner michael dedonato. >> this is the first chair that we did for dick and rick. this chair has been in bronze at the start line. >> proud of their chairs and proud of team babsie. >> pretty cool seeing team babsie. dick hoyt told me, one day, we're going to change the world with these chairs -- and he was right. >> and today, right there, mother and daughter at the starting line. >> good morning, everybody. we can't wait to see you. see you at the finish! >> barbara and beth along the way. crossing the finish line at 7:14.46. right afterward -- >> hi, david. >> beth and barbara with a message. >> we just finished the boston marathon. we're overwhelmed with all the cheers that we got on the route and we're happy to have paid tribute to our dick hoyt. >> celebrating barbara and beth and the workers behind the running chair. good night school a plane crashes in southern california tonight the latest damage that includes homes and lives and i'm meteorologist drew tuma it. ning high fire das rest in the accuweather. solutions. this is abc 7 news. gusty winds that are dangerous enough to trigger a red flag warning and prompt pg&e to turn off the power for thousands of bay area customers and we won't get relief from these conditions until tomorrow. good evening. thank you for joining us. i'm on a date and ashley you're watching abc 7 news at 6 live here on abc 7 hulu live and wherever you stream we'll start here with breaking news fire. barbara county, this is a still image taken just moments ago. just coming into the newsroom of what's being called the elisal fire highway 101 is shut down in both. elections near highway 1 and evacuation orders are in effect. again. this is in santa barbara county. it is windy in southern california as well as it is here, although spencer tells us not quite as windy as we are experiencing, but certainly the very dry conditions the low humidity and the wind effector in this fire in santa barbara county as well. we'll get a sense of how big this fire is and we'll let you know more just as soon as it comes in now in san jose as we come back to the bay area flames burned burned right up to some backyards. behind a blackened hillside cal fire brought in some aerial support with a helicopter doing some water drops. this fire started about 3:30 this afternoon. and a half hours ago near sierra road and varner court and burned