ABC World News Tonight with David Muir Full Broadcast - Aug. 28, 2025

Tonight, chilling new images of the deadly Catholic school. shooting in Minneapolis. A parent capturing haunting video showing the moment. children raised from inside the church were two students. were shot and killed 18 children and adults wounded. Authorities describing disturbing details. about the suspect saying the shooter wanted to. kill defenseless children. Police say the suspect fired 116 rounds of a rifle, three rounds from a shotgun. Investigators sifting through hundreds of pieces of evidence, the US attorney saying quote, "The shooter's.

heart was full of hate.". And late today, the father of one of those young kids killed. condemning the shooter as a coward. Alex Perez in Minneapolis. Tonight, the walk out at the CDC, a major revolt brewing. over HHS Secretary Robert. of the CDC director on the job for less than a bunk. Four top officials resigning in protests, accusing Kennedy of pushing policies. that do not reflect scientific reality. Also tonight, major headaches at Newark Airport, a ground stop ordered as millions of Americans.

head out for the long, Labor Day weekend. "These clerks are frequently on the liable.". For the second time in just 24 hours, communications breaking down between air traffic control. and pilots flying in and out of Newark. in and out of Newark. Overseas tonight, two weeks after President Trump's Alaska. summit with Vladimir Putin, Russia unleashing its second. largest attacks since the start of the war in Ukraine. More than 600 drones and missiles targeting. Keebe, massive explosions erupting residential. areas, EU and British offices taking direct hits. Here in the U.S., the desperate search for a.

missing boy vanishing two weeks ago, authorities. finding his body saying he was killed by an alligator. They heated confrontation at the U.S. Open between American Taylor Townsend. and her opponent. What set this off? The dramatic rescue from a burning home, an eight-year-old. boy trapped by the window on the second floor, what he did to. escape the smoke and the flames. And the Powerball jackpot, the new number tonight, closing in on $1 billion.

(dramatic music). - From ABC News, World Headquarters in New York, this is World News Tonight with David New York. - Good evening, and thanks so much for joining us. on a busy Thursday night. I'm Rachel Scott in for David. We begin with the grief and anger after the horror. that played out for school children, targeted by a shooter as they prayed at church. on the first week of classes at their Catholic school, Minneapolis. Two children killed 18. students and adults wounded. Tonight, new video from the parent he raised to the scene,

the first images of children running out of that church, many in tears, older students, taking the hand. of younger ones. Authorities say they recovered 116 rounds. from a rifle at the scene, along with three shotgun shells. They are sifting through the evidence, the words and the. videos the suspect left behind reflecting a descent. into hate and madness. In late today, the father of eight-year-old Fletcher Merkel, who was killed, asking that his son be remembered for. the person he was, not for the act that ended his life.

ABC's Alex Perez leads us off in Minneapolis tonight. "Where's the shooter? Where's the shooter? Oh, no.". Tonight, the horrifying scene inside that church laid bare. Video taken by a parent who raised to the Annunciation. School Church shows students running through the church. cowering fear on their faces, a boy with his ears covered, one child in a wheelchair. In this shell-shocked community, investigators pouring over. a mountain of evidence trying to figure out what drove. but the ranged shooter to slaughter children as.

they prayed in church. The shooter was obsessed with the idea of killing children. Authorities say they recovered 116 rifle rounds at the scene. along with three shotgun shells. Do you think along the way maybe some signs or. red flags were missed or? That is certainly a possibility, but again, we're only 24. hours into this investigation. A coward decided to take your old son, Fletcher, away from us.

Jesse Merkel's eight-year-old son, Fletcher, was one of two. children killed in the shooting. Devastated, the grieving father, remembering his little boy. Let your loved his family, friends, fishing, cooking, and any sport that he was allowed to play. While the hole in our hearts and lives will never be filled, I hope that in time our family can find healing. 15 children and three parishioners in their. 80s were hurt, one hospital treating eight children.

First responders describing herowing. moments of bravery. I might be saying too much, but we had one. kid that covered up another kid and. took a shotgun blast to his back and things like that. And they were helping each. other out. I see you nurse Amy. Fortchoss rushed to her job as a. pediatric nurse in the same hospital only to find the. unthinkable. So she checks into work going to help. to do her job. That's all. That's exactly how it was. Without knowing it.

Without knowing that one of the. patients would be her daughter. Her daughter, Sophia, is out of surgery, but still. in critical condition. Over night, thousands came out for a vigil, a community. forever linked by a shared grief from a senseless attack. that has changed the course of so many lives. "I visited that such a terrible tragedy could take place. in a place that's the house of God in the Kingdom of Heaven. Something okay.".

Authorities searching multiple residences connected. to the shooter finding a months-long descent. into madness, a key piece of evidence, a YouTube video that. was timed to be seen after the attack was carried out. The shooter expressed hate towards black people. The shooter expressed hate towards Mexican people. The shooter expressed hate towards Christian people. The shooter expressed hate towards Jewish people. In short, the shooter appeared to hate all of us.

Another video showing the suspect taking a knife and. stabbing an image of church pews and a four-page letter to the. shooter's family warning them of the suspect's plan to kill. The shooter also expressed hatred of. President Donald Trump. There appears to be only one group that the. shooter didn't hate. One group of people who the shooter admired. The group were the school shooters and mass murderers that.

are notorious in this country. Robin Westman, seen in this yearbook photo. obtained by Rafili at KSTP, attended the very school. that they attacked. and age 17 they filed documents to change names. from Robert to Robin. Those documents were signed by their mother Mary Grace. Westman who also worked at the school retiring in 2021. Authorities say the shooter had no criminal. history and purchased the rifle shotgun and pistol. legally. And Rachel we just got word. from the family of the other victim killed in all of this.

That's ten year old Harper Moysky, the family. writing in a statement. no family should ever have to endure this kind of pain. We urge our leaders and communities to. take meaningful steps to address gun violence and. the mental health crisis in this country. Rachel? - Yeah, officials say there. is no amount of evidence that can make sense of. this unthinkable tragedy. All right, Alex Perez reporting on this tragedy for us. Alex, thank you. We turn now to the new fallout tonight. After the White House announced the firing. of CDC director Susan Minarez only weeks into the job.

Benares is refusing to resign, saying only President Trump. himself can fire her for other top officials at the CDC have. now resigned and tonight a walk out protest at the health. agency. Here's ABC's Mary Bruce. Tonight at the Centers for Disease Control, dozens of workers walking out for top officials. resigning in protest. After health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. ousted CDC director Susan Minarez.

"We need our leaders above us to believe in CDC and stop. saying question experts.". In his resignation letter, the director of the immunization. office saying Secretary Kennedy treats the CDC as a. tool to generate policies and materials that do not reflect. scientific reality. "Resure right now.". Kennedy swore Minarez in as the new CDC. director just last month. "This is a expert in public health.". Kennedy is a known vaccine skeptic in her confirmation. hearing Minarez defending the scientific consensus.

"Vaccine's absolutely saved lives, and if I'm. confirmed as a CDC director, I will I commit to making. sure that we continue to prioritize vaccine availability. But she clashed with Kennedy who has moved quickly to. overhaul vaccine policy. Just yesterday the FDA narrowing the scope of people approved. for the COVID vaccine this fall to just people over. 65 and adults and children at high risk. Her lawyers say she refused to rubber stamp unscientific.

reckless directives and fire dedicated health experts. "There were two lines. One is that she would never do anything that was illegal and. the other was that she would never do anything that flew in. the face of science and she was being asked to do both of those. things." Tonight, the CDC in turmoil, Menara says she hasn't resigned, that the only person who can. fire her as president Trump and that she still. hasn't heard from him. But the White House insists the president has fired her because. she is, quote, "not aligned with his mission.".

"There's a lot of trouble at CDC and it's going to require. getting rid of some people over the long term in. order for us to change the institutional culture.". And tonight the White House naming a replacement to lead the. CDC, tapping Kennedy's deputy, Jim O'Neill to serve. his interim director. He's been Kennedy's number two for the past three months. And it said previously that he supports vaccines, but not government mandates. Rachel, Mary Bruce with this sudden shakeup.

at the CDC, all right, Mary, thank you. We do move on now to the other major news this Thursday night. There is new trouble at Newark Airport. Air traffic controllers and pilots unable to hear each other. clearly triggering a ground stop and then ongoing delays. all of this happening and what the FAA says is the busiest. travel day ahead of the holiday weekend. ABC's Morgan Norwood has that new work tonight. With more than 50,000 flights expected to. take to the skies today, the busiest one for. the holiday weekend. Air traffic control issues forcing a ground stop at.

Newark Liberty International. Many incoming flights halted for nearly two. hours as controllers and and the pilots struggle. to hear each other on some radio frequencies. "It's a common island frequencies that. are unreliable.". "It's a common island, you know, it's a female, it's a. female, it's a frequency that's no good, it's a part of the. mission, there's, I don't know. They're coming down.". The outage occurring at the Philadelphia. facility that directs aircraft in and out of New. York. It's the second one. in the past day. Betty Bunger telling me she's facing a two-hour delay.

"You know, you can't get yourself upset. It's a holiday weekend. a lot of people, lots of crying babies. They're in more unhappy than I am. That same Philadelphia facility plagued by staffing shortages. and equipment failures for months. The disruption coming as the FAA expects a record. breaking weekend for air travel, the busiest in. 15 years. More than 17 million travelers expected. to pass through checkpoints today. through Wednesday. And Rachel, the average delays here.

at New York, topping about two two hours. The FAA also slashing flights bail about 20. percent as it investigates what causes communication issue. Rachel, I'm being your headache for travelers right, Morgan. Thank you. We turn overseas tonight. Two weeks after President Trump hosted Vladimir. Putin at the Alaska Summit, aimed at achieving. a ceasefire, Russia pounded Ukraine with one of the fiercest. assault of the war. Here's ABC's Chief International. Correspondent, James Longman. The death toll is rising tonight after one of the biggest.

Russian attacks on Ukraine since the start of the war. This is the moment a Russian missile. slammed into a residential neighborhood in Kiev, seconds. later another hit. Apartment buildings turned into rubble. and ash seen in video circulating online. More than 600 drones and. missiles fired on multiple targets across the country. This cafe destroyed. Air-Aid sirens blaring for 11 hours, more than 20 people.

killed, including four children, a two-year-old among them. This catastrophic attack comes less than two. weeks after President Trump and Vladimir Putin. met in Alaska in an effort to stop the war, but Putin. apparently had a different kind of diplomacy in mind. Today targeting critical buildings that housed. the European Union's mission in Ukraine, the British Council and other foreign embassies. "So that will green.". Tonight, President Zelensky says this was not only a strike. on Ukraine, but on Europe and President Trump as well.

"And Rachel, there is serious doubts tonight about whether. that Putin's Zelensky meeting will happen anytime soon, let. alone an end to this war.". "Rachel?" "Alright, James, thank you. back here now to the desperate search for a. missing boy New Orleans. He managed two weeks ago, authorities finding his body and a pond near his home. They say he was killed by an alligator. Here's ABC's Victor Kendo. Tonight, authorities say a horrific alligator attack. in New Orleans left a young child dead.

12-year-old Brian Vazquez, who. vanished two weeks ago, found by Cajun Navy. searchers in an alligator infested pond near his home. We will have hunters in that body of water eradicating. these nuisance alligators. At least two alligators have been caught, residents are frustrated. This should have been dredged a long time ago and this should. have been done a long time ago. Police say Vasquez is nonverbal. Tonight the Cajun Navy says they're helping to identify. the gator that took the little boys life.

Maybe hopefully two one day this neighborhood can like. take back this waterway. And Rachel New Orleans police have launched an internal. investigation over a delay in their initial response after. that child went missing. Rachel. All right, Victor. Thank you. Now to that heated confrontation after a second round match. at the US Open here in New York. After Ulaiana Ostapenko lost to Taylor Townsend the. two exchanging sharp words, Townsend saying Ostapenko. accusing her of having no class and no education.

ABC's Matt Rivers has more. It was the U.S. open play that sparked a. tense showdown. American Taylor Townsend clipping. the top of the net, then going on to clinch a win against. Yelena Ostapenko of Latvia. Ostapenko telling Townsend to apologize for skimming the. net, a lucky break, which, according to tennis etiquette, usually prompts a wave or gesture of apology. I'm going to take a look.

I'm going to take a look. I'm going to take a look. I'm going to take a look. I'm going to take a look. I'm going to take a look. I'm going to take a look. I'm going to take a look. I'm going to take a look. I'm going to take a look. I'm going to take a look. I'm going to take a look. I'm going to take a look. the pinkos comments. I didn't take it in that way, but also, you know, that has been a stigma in our community of, you know, being not educated and all the things. when it's for the furthest thing from the truth.

And the thing that I'm the most proud of. is that I let my racket talk. Rachel Ostapenko says she's been accused of racism. responding on social media saying in part, I was never racist in my life and I respect all nations of. people in the world for me. It doesn't matter where you come from. Rachel. right. Matt Rivers for us. Thank you. When we come back, the seminilla outbreak across more. than a dozen states, at least 95 people sickened. Actor George Clooney in the. health issue, forcing him to cancel public appearances. and their dramatic rescue from a burning home. An eight year old boy trapped by the window on the.

second floor. What he did to escape the smoke and flames. Tonight an eight year old boy making a dramatic escape. from a burning home in Asbury Park, New Jersey. Smoke inflames filling the house. The boy trapped upstairs, leaping from a second. floor window to police officers and a neighbor. catching him in their arms and then racing him to safety. And the CDC tonight warning about a. seminella outbreak linked to recalled eggs. At least 95 people getting sick in.

In 14 states, 18 patients hospitalized, country. eggs has now recalled cartons of large brown. cage-free sunshine yolk eggs. They have cell-by dates of July 1st through September 16th. Alright, when we come back, George Clooney. cancelling appearances news about his health tonight, and the Powerball jackpot closing in on $1 billion. To the index now, actor George Clooney cancelling. appearances at the Venice Film Festival because. of an illness. He's there to promote his new film, J. Kelly. His spokesperson telling people magazine he's suffering.

a bad sinus infection and under doctor's orders to. scale back his plans. But tonight, Clooney rallying, attending. tonight's premiere with his wife, Amal Clooney. And the power ball jackpot closing in on. one billion dollars. Saturday's drawing now worth $950. million, the sixth largest prize in the game's history. The cash option worth nearly $429 million. You wish you all good luck. When we come back, the grandma, her 16 grandchildren. and the surprise summer vacation you won't.

believe. And finally tonight, adventures with grandma, America's strong. Tonight, as families across the country are. on their summer vacations together, an incredible. surprise and gift to a beloved grandmother from. her 16 grandchildren. For more than two decades now, grandma Norene has been taking. each of her grandkids on a special one-on-one summer. vacation when they finish the eighth grade, each choosing the. spot. Through the years, starting in the year 2000, taking her granddaughter.

Brittany to New York, Eric to Florida, Liz. to Washington, DC. Bill to North Carolina, Scott to San Francisco, Michael to Boston, Katie to New York, Anna to San Diego, Juliana to New York, Jackson to San Francisco. Matthew on a road trip through the Midwest, Tristan on a road trip through Lake Michigan. Patrick to Florida, Jake to Seattle, Peyton to San Antonio, and finally just last year. taking Brady to San Diego.

16 trips in 24 years. So to say thank you, they had an idea to go all in together. to take her to a place she's never been before. A surprise trip to Hawaii. Grandma, Normie. The flight attendants making the announcement. She's a cute little lady sitting in 35 alpha with that. Lay on already. She's a quite a fresh trip. Then reading a note from her grandchildren. Thank you for your love, your courage, and. your endless curiosity.

For being our biggest fan, our favorite travel buddy, and the queen of baking memories, we love. you, Grandma Norrie. And with us tonight, Grandma Norrie's grandkids, Eric. She was always there for us. She was our number one fan. Liz, she's so caring, great listener, loves to tell stories. and Katie she understands and loves everyone and. tonight a very grateful. grandmother. I would like to let people know how.

wonderful it is to have grandchildren and great. grandchildren. I'm very blessed and a very happy. grandma. We're happy for her and for her entire family. Thank you for watching I'm Rachel Scott for. David and all of us here. Goodnight.