water. parts of georgia declaring a flash flood emergency. frightening moments on a highway in south carolina, a car suddenly airborne. driving into the path of a possible tornado. the water rescues now under way. dozens of people pulled from the flooding. hundreds of thousands without power. and now, those new worries, the potential for tornadoes into the night. this storm is still moving. ginger zee and rob marciano in the storm zone tonight. also this evening, a delta airlines flight to atlanta rocked by severe turbulence. at least 14 passengers and crew injured. one passenger carried out on a stretcher. what they think could be behind the sudden jolt. trevor ault with the images from inside the plane. tonight, republican leader mitch mcconnell appearing to freeze again during a news conference. appearing unable to speak for more than 30 seconds. rachel scott standing by live on the hill, she has news on his condition. tonight, also news on rudy giuliani. a judge this evening finding giuliani liable for defamation in a lawsuit brought by two georgia elections workers. what he claimed about them on national television. and could this now affect other cases involving donald trump's friend and former attorney? the war in ukraine, and tonight, the kremlin seeing the biggest drone attack inside russia yet. four russian military planes destroyed. russia retaliating. britt clennett in ukraine for us. back here in the u.s. tonight, hall of famer david ortiz claiming he's being extorted by hackers who broke into a cell phone. what he says they're threatening to do. several recalls for you tonight. tens of thousands of popular newer ford pickup trucks. we'll have the models and why. and the fda warning, the eye drops recall now expanding because of potentially dangerous bacteria and concerns over your eyesight. also, trader joe's recalling its sixth product in five weeks. and something millions of americans will be able to see tonight, and it's definitely worth taking a look. good evening. good evening. it's great to have you with us here on a wednesday night. we do begin, of course, with the major hurricane slamming into florida today, moving across several states. the devastation and the real concern at this hour over tornadoes into the night. overnight, hurricane idalia grew from a category 1 hurricane to a monster category 4 storm. it was a cat 3 when it hit. winds near 125 miles an hour. and a life-threatening storm surge. take a look. idalia making landfall in florida's big bend region. perry, florida. the strongest hurricane to strike that part of the state on record. then speeding into georgia so fast, it was still a cat 1 hurricane. a state of emergency in four states, up through north carolina. right now, there are tornado watches in effect into the night. toppling the canopy of this gas station, the storm today. ripping apart this home in horseshoe beach, washing it away. idalia spawning this suspected tornado in goose creek, south carolina, lifting a car and blowing it over. and this is what the record-breaking storm surge left behind in cedar key. nearly seven feet of water, flooding the entire town. the tampa police with high water rescues. their vehicles on the flooded streets helping people. and at this hour, the radar image. idalia now a tropical storm, still having sprawling effects up through the carolinas. and again, with hundreds of thousands without power now, the real concern at this hour over tornadoes. chief meteorologist ginger zee will time this out, hour by hour, what's still ahead for us. and abc senior meteorologist rob marciano, where this is still heading. rob leads us off in savannah, georgia, tonight. >> reporter: tonight, hurricane idalia cutting a path of destruction and devastation across the southeast. the powerful hurricane making landfall around 7:45 a.m., with sustained winds near 125 miles per hour. the eyewall slamming ashore in perry. >> as of five minutes ago, we all received a message on our phones about an extreme wind -- an extreme wind warning, and you can tell why. >> reporter: snapping trees and stop signs. watch mcdonald's golden arches ripped apart by powerful winds. >> it's starting to circulate around. when that rain hits you, i mean, it's like nails right to the face. >> reporter: dewayne williams and his son racing for cover as winds peeled away the roof above them. >> i felt the roof coming off, so i grabbed my 3-year-old son, and i ran downstairs to the downstairs room, and they opened the door for me, my mom and dad. but it was really terrible going on up there. >> reporter: on cedar key, accuweather storm chasers capturing record-breaking storm surge. nearly seven feet of water. tanks and other debris floating away. the surge tearing apart this home in horseshoe beach. it soon disappears from view altogether. high tide fueling the surge. into tampa. we've got big waves rolling in here. and we have this massive storm surge that's inundated this beach and parking lot. our ginger zee in pinellas county. >> it's been more than three hours since we saw a major historic landfalling hurricane more than 100 miles northwest of us. but look at this, we're still taking on water, coastal flooding right down gulf boulevard. >> reporter: in pasco county, the sheriff's office helping rescue dozens of people and pets from flooded neighborhoods. this massive tree landing on the governor's mansion. hundreds of thousands losing power across the storm zone. the fast-moving buzz saw of destruction barrelling inland, across georgia, and into the carolinas. an apparent tornado flipping this car outside charleston. >> that car's flying! what the -- >> reporter: late today, president biden pledging federal support to the entire region. >> if there's anything -- anything the states need right now, i'm ready to mobilize that support of what they need. >> reporter: nearly 12 hours after making that historic landfall, idalia now a tropical storm. >> david: so, let's bring in senior meteorologist rob marciano. rob with us, and we know this is far from over, rob. >> reporter: yeah, david. parts of this storm still have 60-plus-mile-per-hour winds. so, more trees, more power outages possible. and you mentioned that tornado threat, especially across south and north carolina. we had several warnings across charleston, including that one that was reported. that watch is up until 10:00, which is right around when high tide is going to hit this area, and that full moon high tide. so, low-lying areas will see several feet of storm surge flooding during the night. david? >> david: all contributing to a tough night ahead. rob, thank you for the coverage all day long. let's laser in on the timing, because so many are without power, and this tornado threat very dangerous after nightfall. chief meteorologist ginger zee in treasure island, florida, tonight. and you hear from rob there, the potential for these tornadoes, damaging winds into the night. how long does this last? where is this all headed? >> reporter: the outer bands whipping up tornadoes are possible, again, through 10:00 p.m. with that watch, but i anticipate that extends even, so, watch for that, as we go into north carolina and the outer banks, because, let me time out how it all moves. we're going to see that storm make its exit just south of hilton head, and it will go into the atlantic, but it's going to hug the coast, enough so, we have tropical storm warnings all the way to the virginia state line. now, what happens here is, it's tonight, we start at 7:00 p.m., where you have the onshore wind. and you can see it with those stream lines, the white lines there. gusts of 40, 50 miles per hour. that really heavy rain, on the order of six to ten inches. and that's going to move by tomorrow, fast, just like it has been, out into the ocean. so, we'll say good-bye to idalia by tomorrow afternoon. i do have to mention, that when you plug, with two to five feet of storm surge, the coast, and they you rain on top of it, you're going to have big-time flooding concerns. and we had two to four feet of surge here, sand filling gulf boulevard because a dune was breached. david? >> david: not just the damaging winds tonight. it's the potential for major flooding. ginger zee, rob marciano, our team in the hurricane zone. thank you, all. we're going to move onto the other major news this wednesday evening. tonight, a delta flight approaching atlanta rocked by severe turbulence. at least 14 people injured, some seriously. in fact, one passenger carried out on a stretcher. here's abc's trevor ault. >> reporter: tonight, new images showing the aftermath of this terrifying delta flight from milan to atlanta, rocked by severe turbulence. a passenger carried off the plane on a stretcher, another walking off in a neck brace, others given ice packs. 14 passengers and crew sustaining injuries, 11 of them taken to the hospital. >> the woman in the aisle next to me flew up and hit the overhead bin. i honestly thought we were crashing. >> reporter: the airbus a350 was approximately 40 miles northeast of the hartsfield-jackson atlanta international airport last night when the faa says, "the crew reported severe turbulence." >> delta 175 heavy, runway 8 left, cleared to land. >> reporter: the 151 passengers and 14 crew aboard landing safely. experts now speculate the rapid escalation of hurricanes may have caused the bumpy ride. >> usually, this type of severe turbulence occurs over water at night. this is unusual. what happened in this particular instance may be related to the hurricane. >> reporter: in a statement tonight, delta says its priority is taking care of the customers and crew who sustained injuries. adding, "we are grateful for the first responders who met the aircraft to provide medical attention and who are transporting the injured to the hospital." david, the faa says it will investigate this. and the 11 people who were taken to the hospital are all expected to recover. but authorities stress, this is a good reminder to always wear your seat belt midair, even if there aren't warnings for extreme turbulence. david? >> david: yeah, a real reminder for us all. trevor ault. trevor, thank you. next, to another alarming moment. senate minority leader mitch mcconnell appearing to freeze again in front of reporters, appearing unable to answer a question for more than 30 seconds. so, rachel scott tonight on capitol hill, with more on mcconnell's condition now. >> reporter: tonight, new questions about the health of the senate's top republican, mitch mcconnell, after he froze in front of the cameras, seemingly unable to speak for the second time in just over a month. >> what are your thoughts on running for re-election in 2026? >> what are my thoughts about what? >> running for re-election in 2026? >> oh -- that's -- >> did you hear the question, senator? running for re-election in 2026? all right, i'm sorry, y'all, we're going to need a minute. senator? >> you want to head outside, senator? want to come with us? >> i'm okay. >> reporter: the senator ultimately taking a few questions before being led away. last month, a similar episode on capitol hill. mcconnell freezing for 20 seconds, unable to finish his sentence. >> senator, are you good? mitch? >> hey, mitch, anything else you want to say, or should we just go back to your office? do you want to say anything else to the press? >> reporter: mcconnell's office telling abc news, in both instances, the senator just felt lightheaded. but concern is growing for the 81-year-old leader, who has had a series of health scares this year. a fall in march left him with a concussion and fractured rib. he spent weeks in rehab. then in july, another fall, on an airport jet bridge. and sources tell us that for months, the senator has sometimes used a wheelchair. mcconnell's office tells me that he does plan to see a physician before his next event. leaders on both sides of the aisle wishing him well today. president biden saying while he disagrees with mcconnell politically, he does consider him a good friend, but this is certainly putting a spotlight on the age and the health of leaders on both sides of the aisle. including the front-runners in the race for the white house. president biden is 80, donald trump is 77. david? >> david: rachel scott live on the hill. everyone wishing mcconnell well. rachel, thank you. next tonight, a federal judge has found rudy giuliani liable for defamation in a lawsuit brought by two georgia elections workers. what he claimed about them on national tv that wasn't true. now, a jury will decide how much giuliani owes them. here's our senior investigative reporter aaron katersky now. >> reporter: tonight, a federal judge finding rudy giuliani liable for defaming georgia election workers ruby freeman and shaye moss. this is what giuliani told the world as he repeatedly and falsely accused the mother and daughter of stealing ballots. >> ruby freeman and shaye freeman moss and one other gentleman, quite obviously passing around usb ports as if they are vials of heroin or cocaine. >> reporter: the women told the january 6th committee giuliani's false claims ruined their lives. >> i've lost my name, and i've lost my reputation. i've lost my sense of security, all because a group of people starting with number 45 and his ally, rudy giuliani, decided to scapegoat me and my daughter, shaye, to push their own lies about how the presidential election was stolen. >> reporter: giuliani has conceded his statements about moss and freeman were false, though he insists they were protected by the first amendment. but today, judge beryl howell holding him liable for "defamation, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and civil conspiracy." she says she entered the default judgement, because giuliani failed to turn over evidence, only, quote, blobs of indecipherable data. now a jury will decide how much giuliani has to pay freeman and moss. he's said to be nearly broke, though he arrived in georgia to surrender on criminal charges in a private plane. no word tonight on who foot the bill. a spokesman for giuliani called today's ruling, david, a prime example of the weaponization of the justice system. freeman and moss said it affirmed there was never any truth to any of the accusations. they said they went through a living nightmare, and that giuliani unleashed a wave of threats and hatred they never could have imagined. david? >> david: aaron katersky, thank you. we turn now to the war in ukraine tonight. the kremlin seeing the biggest drone attack yet inside russia. four russian military planes destroyed. russia now retaliating, and abc's britt clennett in ukraine for us. >> reporter: tonight, ukraine unleashing its most widespread drone attacks inside russia since the war began, seen in footage posted online. this airbase in pskov, one of several military targets across at least six regions. video circulating on social media showing thick smoke rising above the facility. at least four military planes destroyed. a fuel depot and military supply factory also struck. russia, today, retaliating in the biggest attack on kyiv since spring, with a barrage of drones and missiles. the debris killing at least two people. crews hosing down the smoldering wreckage in this neighborhood. and residents picking up the pieces after missile fragments and fiery debris rained down on their homes. tonight, moscow vowing drone attacks on russian soil will not go unpunished. but ukraine now signaling it's willing to hit russia where it's most vulnerable. a tactic ukraine's spy chief warned about months ago. do you think there will be more? >> i think so. >> reporter: more attacks inside russia, deep inside russia? >> deeper and deeper. >> reporter: david, the white house says russia is working with north korea on potential arms deals to use in its war here in ukraine. meanwhile, on those drone attacks in russia, a kremlin propagandist on state tv had some rare criticism, saying, if we can't cope with drones, how will we cope with f-16s? david? >> david: that's a big question. britt clennett in kyiv for us. britt, thank you. back here in the u.s. tonight, a massachusetts judge has ruled that former cardinal theodore mccarrick is not competent to stand trial. mccarrick, who appeared by video link, pleaded not guilty of sexually assaulting a teenage boy at a wedding in 1974. lawyers for both sides agreed the 93-year-old, who has dementia, is unable to help his own defense. the judge dismissing the case. a vatican investigation found mccarrick guilty of sex crimes in 2019. when we come back here tonight, news on hall of famer david ortiz, claiming he's being extorted by hackers who broke into a cell phone. what he says they're threatening to do. and a former u.s. swimming champion and the cause of death revealed. her family isn't buying it. de fo severe crohn's 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