ABC World News Tonight with David Muir Full Broadcast - Aug. 17, 2026

David Muir, ABC's World News Tonight, America's. most watched newscast, now streaming same day with all. the breaking news of the day on Disney+. Most watched, most trusted, now on Disney+. every night. Tonight breaking news, the sudden death. of actress Hayden Panettiere. She grew up in front of the camera, best known for. her roles in Remember the Titans, Heroes, and. Nashville. First responders finding her in cardiac. arrest. What the coroner is now saying tonight and what.

the actress told us about her struggles tonight, tracking severe storms and the stunning new images. coming in of catastrophic flooding. A bridge washed away. Multiple lives lost neighborhoods underwater. tonight in Hawaii. Hurricane Lala's trail of destruction, communities cut. off by major flooding there. The two paramedics swept away in their vehicle in. the effort to save them. Tonight, President Trump now threatening to bomb a U.S. ally if it, quote, "gets in the way" with a strait of Hormuz.

And tonight, the president is pressed about. deteriorating conditions aboard the USS Lincoln. at sea now for more than 260 days in this U.S. war in Iran, after the president said. the deployment was not nearly long enough. Tonight, outside Boston, the disturbing testimony. in the wrenching murder trial of a young mom, Lindsay Clancy, the mother accused of killing her. three young children, her own mother tonight, taking the stand. Nearly 30 years after his death, opening statements in. the Tupac Shakur murder trial. Tonight, the dangerous moments, two U.S.

flights in heavy fog about to cross that runway, the. passenger jet aborting takeoff coming down that. intersecting runway. Also tonight, the emergency at. O'Hare Airport. Tonight, the lightning strike. triggering a gas explosion evacuations. Schools told a shelter in place. There's news tonight about an American tourist killed. while hiking Mount Etna honoring the 16 year old. lifeguard bravely rescuing a young boy trapped in. And tonight, hear the new Disney legends, what actress.

Anne Hathaway said about her first Disney project. with Julie Andrews that had the audience laughing. And Diane Sawyer joining Harrison Ford and Ellen. Pompeo and others. They were all there to honor a true. legend in that audience. [music]. From ABC News World Headquarters in New York, this is World. News Tonight with David Muir. Good evening, it's great to have you with us here on. a very busy Monday night.

We do begin tonight with new developments in the sudden. death of actress Hayden Panettiere at the age of 36. The young star growing up in front of the camera, the. actress best known for her roles in Remember the Titans, Heroes, and Nashville. The coroner's office in Greenville County, South Carolina, has first responders answering. a 911 call, found her at an apartment building. in cardiac arrest. She'd been open about long-term struggles with. mental health and addiction. Tonight hear the tributes from family and former co-stars. and ABC's Stephanie Ramos with what we've learned tonight.

Tonight, tributes are pouring in for actress Hayden. Panettiere after her sudden death at the age of 36. Police in Greenville, South Carolina, responding. to a 911 call from an acquaintance at this. apartment building on Sunday. Cardiac arrest. CPR is in progress. First responders found the actress in cardiac arrest, but were unable to revive her. An autopsy found no signs of trauma and police say. there were no signs of foul play or suspicious. circumstances, but an investigation into the. cause and manner of death is still ongoing.

Panettiere's father calling Hayden "an incredible. light and a force of nature who brought immeasurable. love and joy to all who knew her.". Panettiere grew up in front of the camera, from commercials. to soap operas, making her Her film debut as the voice. of Dot in A Bug's Life. And stealing scenes in Remember the Titans. But she later shot to fame as a cheerleader with supernatural.

powers in the show Heroes. and later starred as a young country star in Nashville. ♪ Rock and roll, coming through your speakers ♪. Earning her two Golden Globe nominations. Co-star Connie Britton tonight posting, "This was Hayden, bursting with brilliance, "shining so bright. "I love you, girl. "Sleep easy now.". The actress was open about her struggles. with addiction and postpartum depression. after the birth of her daughter, Kaya, with Ukrainian boxer, Vladimir Klitschko.

That's why I turned to substances, because the anxiety. that I started having, the panic She later gave Klitschko full. custody, calling it the most gut-wrenching experience of her. life. We talked to Panettiere. in May, after the release of her memoir, This Is Me. Was there a part of the book that was just extremely hard. to get through, that was the most challenging story to tell. When I did the audio version of the book and reading.

all the stories out loud. Panettiere told us she was also grieving the loss of her. brother who died three years ago from a heart condition. at the age of 28. No matter how many times I talk about it and how much time. passes, that is just a grief and trauma that just evolves. - It could take up to three months. for the full autopsy to be returned. Hayden Panettiere leaves behind her 11-year-old daughter.

Panettiere would have turned 37 years old this Friday. - What a loss. Stephanie Ramos leading us off tonight. Stephanie, thank you. Tonight, we're also tracking severe thunderstorms. across the Midwest. New images of catastrophic flooding, multiple lives lost, A staggering level of destruction. The Hazel Dell Bridge washed away in Carmel, Indiana. Neighborhoods underwater tonight, and the new severe thunderstorm threat this evening. ABC's Alex Perez in Indiana tonight.

Tonight, new storms hitting the heartland. as the death toll rises. South of Lexington, storms slamming Nicholasville, Kentucky overnight. Raging creeks breaking their banks. Just outside Charleston, West Virginia, first responders. using boats to rescue families around Indianapolis, National. Guard rescuing dozens more over the weekend. It's been raining in many of these towns and communities. for more than a week. Frank Gounder makes furniture on Indianapolis' north side. This is his livelihood.

I started freaking out, getting mad, but you know, you realize. you can't do anything about it. You kind of just have to let go and just continue or else you're. just going to be miserable. The destruction in some areas beyond catastrophic. In the suburbs of Indianapolis, this parkway bridge. sheared in half by floods. There's no timeline on its repair. And David, the floods washed away that road behind me here. River levels remain elevated. So the threat is not over just yet. Yeah, they cannot get a break. Alex, thank you.

Hurricane Lala swept away in their vehicle and. the effort to save them. ABC's Melissa Adan in Hawaii for us. Melissa? David, this is just some of. the damage left behind by Lala. We're in the community of Pahala and they are cut off. We are on the main road that goes around the Big. Island and you can see it is totally destroyed. Lala was a category one hurricane packing 80 mile per. hour wind coming within 30 miles of a direct hit here.

on the Big Island. The storm dumped more than three feet of rain in the mountains, mudslides took down hillsides and trees and washed away roads. This video shows first responders working to save two. paramedics swept away by floods in their ambulance. Thankfully they are okay. The storm knocked out power to more. than a quarter million homes and businesses and authorities say. that it will take up to a month to restore power in the hardest. hit areas. David? Melissa Don in Hawaii for us. Melissa, thank you.

Let's get right to ABC meteorologist Leslie Lopez. back with us tonight. Hi Leslie. Hi David. Now we're looking at flash flood watches all. across Ohio Valley and moving into the Midwest including West. Virginia which just recorded their wettest August day on. record. Severe thunderstorms are also on the move from. Tennessee to Western North Carolina and Virginia. As Ohio Valley dries out, a new cold front will bring severe. storms to the plains tomorrow, damaging wind gusts and. large hail from Omaha to Kansas City. And meanwhile, the midsummer heat continues. from Texas to the Carolinas.

That heat index over 100 degrees all week long. David. Meteorologist Leslie Lopez. back with us tonight. Leslie, thank you. Tonight, the weather a likely. factor in a close call on the runway involving. two U.S. passenger planes in a third plane in. heavy fog in Brazil. An American Airlines flight arriving from Miami and a. Delta flight arriving from JFK taxiing across the same. runway in Sao Paulo. A LATAM flight initially cleared for takeoff, speeding up to. 80 miles per hour in the fog before air traffic control. realized the two other planes were in the path. The pilot slamming on the brakes to avoid collision.

No one was hurt. And tonight, the scare at. Chicago's O'Hare Airport. The FAA tonight says an American Airlines flight blew two. tires upon landing, passengers deplaning on the taxiway. bust to the terminal. No one was hurt. American Airlines says the plane has been taken out. of service for inspection. Tonight, President Trump threatening to bomb a U.S. ally if it, quote, "gets in the way. with Iran and the Strait of Hormuz.". And the president was pressed today about conditions aboard. the USS Lincoln at sea now for more than 260 days.

The president had said the deployment was. not nearly long enough. Here's Jonathan Karl. Unable to put an end to the Iran war, President Trump today. threatened to expand it, issuing a blunt and profane warning to. a U.S. ally, Oman, saying he would bomb the expletive out. of them if they interfered with U.S. objectives in the critical Strait of Hormuz. Would you say you're out of patience with Oman, a strategic partner?

The threat comes as ship traffic through the strait. is at a virtual standstill. This comes as U.S. military officials are scrambling to. respond to a Trump social media post over the weekend that. condemned planned joint exercises with South Korea. In the post which blindsided U.S. military leaders, Trump cited his. "very good" relationship with North Korean dictator Kim. Jong-un, and called the drills "inappropriate and hostile".

toward North Korea, and said they would be scaled back. And today, he suggested he's recently been in. contact with Kim Jong-un. DONALD TRUMP, President of the United States: Kim Jong-un has. always treated me with great respect. Though it's widely believed North Korea. has provided military support to Iran. And today President Trump was asked about the deteriorating. conditions aboard the USS Lincoln aircraft carrier, which has been at sea for more than 260 days. After some sailors' family members told the Military Times.

at least two sailors tried to jump overboard, and a U.S. official told ABC News a sailor did go overboard earlier. this month and was rescued. Last week, the president dismissed concerns. And today, the president insisted there is no problem. aboard the USS Lincoln, quoting what he said a retired. admiral recently told him. He said, I've been on ships that are out there much. longer than that, sir. And I know people on the Lincoln, they.

say it's beautifully maintained and beautifully. And today had been the deadline for the U.S. and Iran to finalize a nuclear agreement and. come to a permanent end to the conflict, but David, that. agreement never came close to happening and there is no. end in sight to the war. The Iranians today said that that peace deadline, quote, is no longer relevant. John Karl, good to have you here in New York tonight. Tonight U.S. envoy and President Trump's son-in-law. Jared Kushner meeting with Israeli Prime Minister.

Benjamin Netanyahu, trying to salvage the. Trump administration's stalled Gaza peace. plan. Talks lasting more than four. hours, Netanyahu is refusing to pull Israeli forces out of. Gaza until Hamas fully disarms. Kushner saying he urged Netanyahu to give Hamas. the chance to prove itself. Meantime, back here in the U.S. tonight, outside Boston, the disturbing. testimony in the wrenching murder trial of a young mom, Lindsay Clancy, accused of killing her three young children. in Duxbury. Her own mother on the stand today. And here's Aaron Katersky.

Tonight, anguish testimony from the mother of Lindsay. Clancy, the Massachusetts woman on trial for killing her three. children in a case that has ignited a national conversation. about postpartum mental health. I remember her saying, I just have to tell you guys. something. And then she told us. What did she tell you? She told us that she had thoughts. of harming the children. Paula Musgrove testified her daughter grew anxious near the. end of her maternity leave. She read this text from Clancy asking for help.

Mom, will you please come up and stay with me for a bit? I'm really sick. Something is wrong. It's just really scary. And I don't want to be alone. Clancy has admitted she strangled five-year-old. Cora, three-year-old Dawson, and eight-month-old. Callan in January 2023, but has invoked an insanity defense, arguing a combination of psychiatric drugs prescribed. after the birth of her third child made her. postpartum psychosis worse. She said that she couldn't remember anything. The medication was pretty much just destroying her.

mind, and it wasn't her. She said, "This isn't me. I just want to feel better and enjoy my kids again. Clancy's mother was among the first witnesses for the defense. Prosecutors rested their case today after more than 70. witnesses who gave sometimes gut-wrenching testimony that. left Clancy, a former labor and delivery nurse, in tears. Bruising or abrasions. And what about injuries? All right, counsel, could we take a break?

Prosecutors argued Clancy planned the murders and sent. her husband, Patrick, out of the house on errands. He returned home to the unthinkable. His wife had jumped from the bedroom. window after cutting herself. She's now paralyzed from the waist down. There's no dispute Clancy killed the children, David. The question for the jury is whether her mental state. absolves her of criminal responsibility. - It is a case being watched by so many. Aaron Katersky, our chief investigative correspondent.

tonight, Aaron, thank you. When we come back here, a lightning strike. killing an American tourist on Mount Etna, what we're learning tonight. Also here in the US, lightning has triggered. a major gas explosion. The picture's coming in. And then the new Disney legends tonight, who Diane Sawyer, Harrison Ford, and Ellen Pompeo. showed up to honor. A true legend in that audience and what Diane said in a moment. Tonight, lightning leading to a major explosion. in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Take a look, massive flames erupting from a natural gas. tank, several of them in fact.

The owners of the site say lightning struck a tank. touching off multiple infernos. Intense flames and thick black smoke seen for miles, fires prompting evacuations and nearby road closures. tonight. Fire crews still on the scene trying to fight. those flames. In Italy, a young American tourist hiking. Mount Etna has been killed by a lightning strike there. Firefighters say they found the 29-year-old man in. serious condition on Sunday. He was reportedly hiking Being alone, hospital staffers. say the man died from his injuries shortly after being. airlifted. Back in the U.S.

and in Texas, the Trump administration. pausing construction of a controversial border. wall at Big Bend National Park in southern Texas. Customs and border protection facing lawsuits. and fierce bipartisan opposition from critics. who say the project is damaging the pristine environment there. They say the rugged and remote terrain is already enough. of a deterrent for smugglers and migrants. The head of the agency saying the project is on pause while. he visits the area and conducts his own on the. ground evaluation. When we come back here tonight honoring the. 16 year old lifeguard, you've seen the video.

It's been seen by millions now, bravely rescuing. a young boy trapped in dangerous rip currents. And the new Disney legends tonight, Diane Sawyer and. who she was there to honor. And you'll hear what she said in a moment here. To the index of other news tonight in Las Vegas, opening. statements in the Tupac Shakur murder trial nearly. 30 years after his death. Prosecutors say the rapper was shot in a. quote "act of revenge.". They alleged Dwayne Davis ordered the killing. and provided the gun. They claim the shooting was retaliation for this. brawl when Davis's nephew was roughed up at a casino.

Davis has pleaded not guilty. Stunning video tonight showing a freight train derailment in. Massachusetts, multiple rail cars off the tracks. in Worcester. This was on Friday. The freight operator saying the rail cars were. empty, no one was hurt. There is an investigation underway into what. caused that derailment. At the White House, special recognition. today for a 16-year-old lifeguard who pulled off. a dramatic water rescue. We had showed you it here. Last month, Ryder Williams dove into the powerful waves at. Seabright Beach in Santa Cruz to save 10-year-old Nathaniel Ray. Today, President Trump meeting with Ryder and Ray.

in the Oval Office, Trump calling Ryder a real hero. When we come back here tonight, the new Disney legends, what. Anne Hathaway said about the Princess Diaries and working. with Julie Andrews that had the audience laughing. And Diane Sawyer was there to honor a true legend. And you'll see it in a moment. ABC World News Tonight with David Muir, sponsored. by the Farmer's Dog. Finally, tonight here celebrating a new class of. Disney legends, among them Anne Hathaway, Lin-Manuel.

Miranda and Diane Sawyer was there to honor a true legend. Tonight, a new class of Disney legends. For nearly 40 years now, the prestigious award given. to a select few who made an indelible mark on Disney. I'm so happy to welcome you as Disney legends. Eleven new inductees, actress Anne Hathaway among them, remembering her first Disney project, The Princess. Diaries with Julie Andrews. That little princess film that we made together. became my first Disney classic and her 27th.

And Lin-Manuel Miranda, known for Hamilton and Disney movies. Moana and Canto and so many others. He's got Tonys and Grammys aplenty. Written many a musical score. Singing his speech to the song Part of Your World. from The Little Mermaid. God, what a time. Grateful that I'm part of your world. Thank you so much for this. The Jonas Brothers, Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson,

among the other honorees. And then the moment. So many big names there to present the award to our friend. and Disney legend, former CEO Bob Iger. Al Michaels, Diane Sawyer, Ellen Pompeo, Robert Downey Jr. and Harrison Ford. All there to honor Bob. Diane Sawyer on Bob's Impact. Some people are just born dreamers, and you know it. because they're the ones who can see light before the dawn. And that's Bob Iger.

And Bob, who for years presented the Legend Award to others, now standing there, a legend himself. Lynn, you make me feel talentless. Ann, you make me feel stiff. Dwayne, you make me feel small. I was going to ask if I could hold the Legends Trophy, But my biceps couldn't handle it. I also must say that giving the awards out over the years. was a lot of fun. Getting one, even more fun.

It was incredible. So many legends, so much talent, and Bob Iker, who, as he mentioned there, has given out. that award for so many years now at Disney Legend himself. and deserved. I'm David Muir. I'll see you tomorrow night. Good night. David Muir, the most trusted and most watched. newscast in America. And now, World News Tonight has won the Emmy for Best Live. News Program for the fourth year in a row.