documents involving our national security discovered in his home. and the new findings tonight, after the tv chopper crash. and what they reveal. good good evening. and we begin tonight with the monster hurricane moving toward the u.s., and tonight, millions of americans are now being told to prepare for that possibility of a direct hit. let's get right to the pictures tonight. authorities saying this could be the biggest mass ever. hundreds of thousands of families already in their cars, racing to get out of the possible path, acrosseveral states tonight. authorities saying do not be complacent. the lines forming outside this costco near orlando. the satellite at this hour showing the scope of the hurricane, deadly already, 300 miles across. and tonight, this video just in from hurricane hunters flying right through the eye of the storm. and, of course, what everyone is watching, the new track just in tonight, from miami, north to wilmington. and now that possibility that this could spin around and hit more than once. ginger zee standing by on that. but first, abc's gio benitez in south florida. >> reporter: tonight in florida, time is running out. the southeast preparing for a direct hit from hurricane matthew. >> when you look at this storm as it goes along the east coast, we're going to have to prepare every county. so, it could the biggest evacuation ever. >> reporter: matthew, potentially the worst storm to hit the sunshine state in over a decade. now strengthening over open water, winds over 120 miles an wreaking havoc across the caribbean for the past 24 hours. making a second landfall overnight in eastern cuba, lefing the town of baracoa. officials in haiti still trying to assess the damage. five deaths reported so far. but the main bridge that connects to the hard-hit south is washed out. officals now postponing sunday's presidential election indefinitely. our lindsey davis is on the ground. >> people are worried about the potential for landslides and it's difficult to know the full extent of the damage on this island, because in some of the areas most impacted by hurricane matthew, communication has been cut off. >> reporter: matthew now barreling toward the bahamas. in nassau, airports closed. residents who stayed behind fearing the worst. >> my stomach tells me that this one might be bad. >> reporter: at least 3,500 tourists hunkering down in hotels. alex perez is in nassau. >> some 3,000 people will ride out the storm here at the iconic atlantis hotel. about 90% of them americans. they'll spend the night in a conference room turned into a shelter. >> reporter: and now, with just 24 hours to go, florida and much of the southeast tracking this storm's every move. >> we're going to get whatever comes at us. imagine a category 2. we're in trouble. >> has been awhile, but the others are just like tropical storms or whatever, this is a little scary. >> reporter: residents forced to choose, evacuate or stock up. supplies running low. tempers running high. >> this is the line. stations that have shut down because they're out of gas. >> reporter: these lines may be long, but these people are the lucky ones, because most of the gas stations in this area have already run out of gas. the governor calling up 500 national guard troops. the president today warning residents. >> if you get an evacuation order, just remember that you can always repair. you can always rebuild. you cannot restore a life if it is lost, and we want to make sure that we minimize any possible loss of life or risk to people in these areas. >> and gio benitez is live with us in south florida tonight. gio, you were telling us, there are concerns this evening about fuel, and we can see the lines right there behind you. >> reporter: that's right, david. plenty of gas here, even with those long lines, but i got to tell you, we've been to several gas stations, so many of them without fuel, all day long. the governor insists there is no shortage, but he's watching that closely. >> it will be a concern moving nearly 2 million children in the country, more than 1,000 flights already canceled. and tonight, in south carolina, in fact, they have reversed the direction of several lanes on some highways there to actually help families get out and quickly. meteorologist rob marciano is along i-26 in north charleston tonight. >> reporter: tonight, evacuations under way. along the south carolina coast, more than a quarter million people told to get out immediately. that number could grow as the storm gets closer. >> we want you to evacuate. we do not want you to stay. >> reporter: residents boarding up and sandbagging, gassing up and now heading for safer ground. for those without cars, a fleet of buses offering a ride for people like samira. >> we decided to leave. >> reporter: traffic this morning, already bumper to bumper on interstate 26. the main artery out of charleston. then, this afternoon, the highway patrol blocking >> absolutely no one on the road, that is what troopers are looking for. >> reporter: soon making the major interstate a one-way highway, helping more people get out faster. this map showing the state's evacuation routes and where that interstate 26 traffic is now going in a single direction, away from the coast. >> and rob marciano live with us tonight, as well. and this is the first time i-26 has ever been shut down for hurricane evacuations. what is it looking like so far? the exchange behind me has been jammed up at times, but if you ready to go all the way to columbia. ban i 1999, floyd, that took was what should have been a two-hour drive, made it a 12-hour nightmare. >> get out and get out early. rob, thank you. ginger zee in central florida tonight with this new track we were talking about. ginger, where is the hurricane >> reporter: david, we are less than 24 hours from feeling it here on the coast of florida. what could be a nightmare situation, that hurricane is now about 450 miles to my southeast. and it's fitting that in satellite beach, because we are about to see one of the nastiest satellites ever coming towards the u.s. 120-mile-an-hour ones. bahamas are urgent, now through tomorrow. hurric coast, through daytona beach. and that hurricane watch goes up through the coastal waters outside of charleston. a quick look at the timing, david. it is bad news by tomorrow morning in has gnaw. the right kwa grant there. the hurricane, way too close to florida. making landfall by friday morning. if i were standing here on satellite beach, my goodness, we'd have that destructive wind. you don't need a landfall to feel incredible results. david? >> possible direct hit near cape canaveral. in the meantime, ginger, what do models that show this actually circling around and hitting, potentially, twice? >> reporter: so, after friday morning, take the path here with me. it hugs along the coast. jacksonville, up up there parts of georgia, into south carolina, very important to watch the proximity there, but turns back around, and, yes, some of the models trying to take it back towards florida again. we'll be watching it for you. >> ginger zee, rob marciano, gio benitez, thank you all. we move to other news tonight, and the other major the owner of a samsung smartphone saying it started burning while on a passenger plane, smoke in the cabin. it happened on this southwest plane, the captain calling in emergency equipment. samsung, as we've been reporting, has recalled 1 million of its note 7 smartphones and offered a replacement it said was safer. but the owner of this phone says it was one of those replacements. here's abc's david kerley. >> reporter: tonight, what happened in this jet at the gate in louisville -- >> 994, we got smoke in the cabin. according to a passenger, it was his smoking, burning, replacement note 7 phone. >> i noticed smoke just pouring out of my pocket. pulled the phone out of my pocket, threw it onto the ground where it continued to smoke and kind of burned and smoldered into the carpet. >> reporter: brian green says he powered down his note 7 and put it in his pocket. suddenly -- >> it popped, it sizzled, you could say, even. i was scared i was going to have bits of glass in my head. >> reporter: none of the 76 jet was quickly evacuated. latest count hate 60% of the nearly 1 million original note 7s sold in the u.s. replaced. nearly 100 of the originals overheated with 26 people being burned. in the past week, there have been reports that some of the replacements the south korean company rushed to market were getting hot. but this would be the first case of a replacement phone smoking and burning. so serious, the consumer product investigators on the ground in louisville. >> we're going to be working around the clock to make sure that we can get to the bottom of this and make sure that consumers know what they can count on or not with regard to this remedy. >> reporter: samsung says it is also sending representatives to louisville and will be working with the government to identify the phone and the cause. >> and so david kerley with us live tonight, and david, let's get back to what the owner of this phone claims, that this was one of the replacements. if the replacement is a fire risk, what are they dealing with here? >> reporter: if the replacement is a risk, you recall. samsung used the same battery in all the replacements, david, that could mean that there are still 1 million dangerous phones out there in the u.s. >> all right, going to concern a lot of people. david, thank you. we turn next here tonight to a contractor working for the nsa who is now under arrest this even, accused of stealing top secret material on our nation's security and store, it at his home. pierre thomas tonight. >> reporter: this is the home accused of illegally keeping some of the nation's top secrets. stolen from the agency deploying the nation's most cutting edge intelligence technology, the nsa. neighbors stunned. >> shock to everybody. >> next thing you know, i seen fbi jackets and, you know, police, state police. >> reporter: martin, a contactor at the same company that edward snowden worked for, is being held at an undisclosed location after the august raid that recovered classified documents and digital media material so sensitive, divulged, it would cause exceptionally grave damage to the national security of the united states. >> once it is out of nsa, anyone can get it. >> reporter: sources tell abc news, the fbi suspects martin stole critical computer codes the nsa uses to hack foreign adversaries. so far, the fbi's not accusing martin of espionage, but sources tell abc news the probe is far from over. >> and pierre thomas with us live tonight. and pierre, the fbi says martin >> reporter: yes, david. they claim he acknowledged taking the material when confronted, but tonight, his lawyers say that he loves his country, and would never betray it. david? >> pierre, thank you. we turn next here to the race for the white house, and perhaps you were one of the millions watching that fiery vice presidential debate overnight. but already tonight, an intense focus on the next presidential faceoff, just four days away now. abc's tom llamas tonight with trump out on the campaign trail, and hillary clinton off the trl >> reporter: tonight, donald trump, taking credit for his running mate's debate performance. >> mike pence did an incredible job. and i'm getting a lot of credit, because that's really my first so-called choice, that was my first hire, as we would say in las vegas. >> reporter: in the vp debate, governor mike pence, praised for his style, both candidates arguing over which campaign deals more in insults. pigs, dogs, disgusting. he attacked an indiana-born federal judge and said he was unqualified to hear a federal lawsuit because his parents were mexican. he went after john mccain, a p.o.w., and said he wasn't a hero because he had been captured. he said african-americans are living in hell. >> reporter: pence, trying to turn the tables. >> did you all just hear that? ours is an insult-driven campaign? i mean, to be honest with you, if donald trump had said all the things that you said he said in the way you said he he still wouldn't have a fraction of the insults that hillary clinton leveled when she said that half of our supporters were a basket of deplorables. >> reporter: trump now testing a possible new line of attack for his own debate sunday. >> bill clinton yesterday, oh, they're so ang they're so angry at him. they scolded him yesterday. he was scolded. >> reporter: he's talking about has to recent clinton comments, >> so, you've got this crazy system where all of a sudden 25 million more people have health care and then the people are out there busting it sometimes 60 hours a week, wind up with their premiums elbowed and their coverage cut in half. it's the craziest thing in the world. >> so, bill clinton torched president obama's signature legislation. he said, it's just a crazy system. and that's the way he said it. it's the craziest thing in the whole world. >> reporter: today, clinton clarifying, saying he supports obamacare, but it has some problems. hillary clinton, flying to washington today, already deep in that focused prep trump once mocked. >> you decided to stay home, and that's okay. >> i think donald just criticized me for preparing for this debate. and, yes, i did. >> tom llamas with us live tonight from trump tower. hall-style format. late today, the clinton team saying she likes town hall formats, she embraces it, and tom, what are you learning from your trump sources tonight. is he preparing for this different format? >> reporter: david, he is, we've just learned that tomorrow night, he'll have a private town hall in new hampshire and that will likely emulate the format he'll see on sunday, david. >> all right, tom llamas with us tonight. tom, thank you. we are just four days, as i mentioned now, to that second presidential debate. co-moderated bill oy our own ma raddatz. sunday night, 9:00 p.m. eastern, right here on abc. in the meantime, there is still much more ahead on "world news tonight" this wednesday. the deadly chopper crash and new findings coming in tonight. the tv helicopter bursting into flames on the street. investigators revealing now the possible cause. also, the medical bill making headlines across the country tonight. parents of a newborn baby, and the surprising fee they were charged after being handed their own son. been charged for this? and, of course, everyone remembers michael jackson's "thriller," such a giant hit. why that song is suddenly back in the news tonight. we'll be right back. ge isn't slowing you down. but your immune system weakens as you get older increasing the risk for me, the shingles virus. i've been lurking inside you since you had chickenpox. i could surface anytime as a painful, blistering rash. one in three people get 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much something costs and you have to ask? ?bring up the costs associated with your services.? i know. transparency about costs. just one way edward jones makes sense of investing. what i love most about tempur-pedic mattresses... is that they contour to your body. change your sleep, change your life... change to tempur-pedic. to sleep happy guaranteed, and zero percent apr financing, visit mattress firm. next toni next tonight, the new parents in utah with a case of sticker shock. celebrating the birth of their son, then they saw a surprising charge on their hospital bill. the father calling it ridiculous. how many other families have paid this? here's abc's david wright. >> reporter: a utah mother and father share their newborn's first few minutes of life. priceless, right? ryan grassley thought so. until he got the bill from the hospital. that charge right there, $39.35. >> the bill called it skin to skin contact and i'm pretty sure you cannot blame this on obamacare. >> reporter: it was a hot topic today on "the view," and social media, after grassley shared the bill on reddit, where it struck a nerve. for the additional caregiver needed to maintain the highest levels of patient safety. they say they only bring in that extra nurse when it's a c-section. grassley says, in this case, the nurse barrorrowed his came are take pictures as he held the baby on his wife's chest. he had no idea they'd charge him for it. today, he launched a go fund me campaign, the goal? $40. david wright, abc news, new york. >> tweet us, let us know what you the meantime, the deadly chopper crash. the tv helicopter coming down in an american city, and the new findings from the investigation tonight. and the giant train jumping the tracks, at least eight cars derailing. derailing. details right after the break. u? 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call now to request your free decision guide and learn more. to the to the index tonight, and the new report into a deadly chopper crash in seattle. the news helicopter from komo going down after takeoff in 2014. bursting into flames on the street. hydraulic failure caused it to spin out of control. komo also reporting that the pilot was trained on the most recent pre-flight checklist buzz the list inside the chopper was a previous version. long-time pilot gary fitzre died in the crash. our thoughts with the team at komo. the fright train derailing in new york city. eight cars jumping the tracks in the rail car. all 99 cars were empty at the time. amtrak wasorced to suspend service between new yk the trains are now running at reduced speeds. the cause is under investigation. and a passing to note tonight. the man behind the music. ? thriller ? ? thriller night ? >> michael jackson's "thriller," and rod temper on the behind some of the biggest hits of the '70s and '80s. he tested about 300 titles before settling on "thriller." quincy jones calling him, quote, he was 66. when we come back, america strong tonight. and you've got to see this. the wounded marine and a dream come true. if you h if you have a typical airline credit card, you only earn double miles when you buy stuff from that airline. wait...is this where you typically shop? 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exclusive, the notorious pink panther gang, he was in it. what he's saying today about the gang that robbed kim kardashian. handiwork of the pink panther group? >> and how was kim able to get out of the zip tie handcuffs? then, the smirking skull inside and the photo. >> freaky looking face. then -- >> donald -- >> he says -- >> rudest debate ever. >> the people at home cannot understand either one of you when you speak over each other.