ABC World News Tonight with David Muir Full Broadcast - March 24, 2025

Tonight, breaking news. The major. national security breach. Plans for US. strikes in the Middle East inadvertently. sent to a reporter through an exclusive. group chat with top officials. Incendiary devices found at a Tesla. dealership and spreading wildfires. prompting evacuations and a state of. emergency. First, that stunning. revelation. The reporter who claims he. knew top secret details about US. military strikes on Houthi rebels in. Yemen before the strikes happened, saying he was added to a chat group of.

top national security officials. reportedly receiving top secret details. and highly sensitive discussions. Also, the initial opposition to the plans from. Vice President JD Vance. Martha Ratits. with new reporting. The FBI now. launching a task force to investigate. the targeting of Tesla property by. vandals. At least 48 incidents. nationwide. And now, authorities looking. into multiple incendiary devices found. at a Texas dealership today. Severe. weather hits the east as tornadoes slam. the south. A state of emergency and.

mandatory evacuations declared along. parts of the east coast. The extremely. dry conditions fueling wildfires from. the Carolas to New Jersey. The tragic. death of the son of a former New York. Yankees star. The statement from. one-time World Series champ Brett. Gardner on the loss of his 14-year-old. son while the family was on vacation in. Costa Rica. A former University of. Michigan coach appears in court pleading. not guilty, accused of gaining access to. personal information and medical data of.

thousands of student athletes. And. tonight, the new lawsuit. And we. celebrate 45 years of our friends at. Night Line. from their beginning during. the Iran hostage crisis that gripped the. nation to the memorable and. history-making stories and interviews. From ABC News World Headquarters in New. York, this is World News Tonight with. David Mure. Good evening. Thanks for joining us on. this Monday night. I'm Whit Johnson. and.

for David. We begin tonight with a. stunning breach in national security. involving the ongoing highly classified. US attacks targeting Houthi rebels in. Yemen. The details reportedly discussed. openly over a group chat on the. unauthorized signal app among members of. President Trump's national security. team. A journalist mistakenly invited to. the group. The US bombing campaign. against the Houthis now in its 10th day. The Trump administration targeting the. Iranianbacked rebels who have long been. threatening Israel and cargo ships in.

the area. The Atlantic, now revealing. its editor-inchief, who was invited to. join the group chat, says he was. included on all the sensitive. information hours before the military. strikes began. Vice President JD Vance, Defense Secretary Pete Hegsath, top. cabinet officials, and national security. leaders all texting about the plan. President Trump pressed about the report. following today's cabinet meeting, saying he didn't know anything about it. Meanwhile, on Capitol Hill, lawmakers on.

both sides demanding answers. ABC's. chief global affairs correspondent. Martha Ratitz leads us. off. It is a shocking lapse in national. security. Instead of using highly. classified secure channels, Vice. President J. D. Vance and members of. President Trump's national security team. sharing detailed active war plans on a. commercial messaging app texts that. inadvertently included journalist. Jeffrey Goldberg from the Atlantic. An. extraordinary mistake that the White.

House now acknowledges. My reaction was, I think I've discovered a massive. security breach. As he reported in the Atlantic days. before the US attack on the. Iranianbacked Houthis in Yemen in. mid-March, Goldberg wrote he was. surprised to be added to a group chat on. the app Signal, apparently by National. Security Adviser Mike Waltz. Also on. that chat, the names JD Vance, Defense. Secretary Pete Haggsath, Secretary of.

State Marco Rubio, CIA Director John. Ratcliffe, DNI Director Tulsi Gabbard, and others calling itself the Houthi PC. small group. PC or principles committee. generally refers to a group of the most. senior national security officials. At. 8:16 on Friday, March 14th, Vance. texting the group about the possible. strikes on Yemen. I think we are making. a mistake, pointing out what's happening. off the coast of Yemen affects European.

trade more than US trade. And in a. stunning declaration, Vance, who is. normally in lock step with the. president, saying, "I am not sure the. president is aware how inconsistent this. is with his message on Europe right now, suggesting delaying the strikes for a. month." At 8:27, a response from Pete. Hegsth saying that waiting will not. change the calculus, but it could make. the administration look indecisive. In.

what the Atlantic says is a screenshot. of the signal chat Goldberg was added to. at 8:45. Vance responding, "If you think. we should do it, let's go. I just hate. bailing out Europe again." Hgstathth. responding, "I fully share your loathing. of European freeloading. It's pathetic.". The next day, March 15th, at. 11:44, Hegsth posts a team update. revealing the strikes would commence in.

2 hours. Goldberg did not quote from the. text in his article, saying Hegsth. shared operational details of the. forthcoming strikes, weapons deploying, and attack sequencing. Goldberg simply. waited to see if any of the information. shared would actually happen. Then at 1:55 p.m. the first explosions. were reported in Yemen with many more to. follow. According to Goldberg, the. administration officials reacting after.

the strikes. Excellent. A good start. Waltz even sending several emojis. Goldberg wrote he was skeptical the. group was real at first, but today the. National Security Council saying, "At. this time, the message thread that was. reported appears to be authentic and we. are reviewing how an inadvertent number. was added to the chain." I receive a. text in this chain uh from someone who. claims to be Pete Haggath who provides.

uh what I would only call I can only. call a war plan. Tonight, Hexth blasting. the reporter and the report. Nobody was. texting war plans. And that's all I have. to say about that. Mr. President, your. reaction. President Trump hours after. the texts were reported, saying he was. unaware of the story. I don't know. anything about it. Whit military. officials at the Pentagon are. dumbfounded by the security breach with. lawmakers on both sides of the aisle. demanding a full investigation. Whit,

we're seeing that swift reaction across. Washington. And Martha, thank you. Turning now to the FBI launching a new. task force to investigate the growing. reports of attacks targeting Tesla. dealers and vehicles. At least 48. incidents nationwide. And now, police. say multiple incendiary devices were. found at a Tesla dealership. ABC's Maria. Via Rial reports from Austin, Texas. After dozens of violent incidents like. this against Teslas across the country,

tonight the FBI announcing it's. launching a new task force comprised of. counterterrorism agents to investigate. who's targeting dealerships, cars, and. charging stations. Today, law. enforcement swarming this Austin. dealership not far from Tesla's. headquarters. Police finding and. removing several incendiary devices at. that same showroom over the weekend. Crowds protesting. Officials have not. indicated whether today's discovery is. tied to that event.

But anger over Musk's role in the White. House growing coast to coast from New. York City to Boston, Memphis, and. Colorado Springs. The FBI saying there's. been at least 48 instances in more than. nine states since January, including. arson, gunfire, and graffiti. The FBI. now urging Americans to be vigilant. around Tesla locations. The president, who's called the vandals garbage, today.

saying those caught are terrorists who. should cut it out. They're going to. suffer very grave consequences because. they're really terrorists when you think. about it. They're they're very. terrorists at a high level. Whit Musk. says several of his Doge employees have. actually received death threats with a. global day of action set for March 29th. Organizers calling for peaceful protests. at Tesla locations this Wednesday across. the globe, including this one right here. in Austin. The FBI will surely be on.

high alert. Whit. All right, Maria. Thank you. Next tonight, the state of. emergency and mandatory evacuations in. the south. Tornadoes, dangerous storms, and wildfires from Texas to the east. coast. Large fires destroying thousands. of acres in North and South Carolina. The National Guard called in to assist. Two tornadoes, including a confirmed EF1. touching down near Rolling Fork, Mississippi. That same area devastated. by a deadly EF4 just two years ago.

Here's ABC's Jana Norman. Tonight, multiple outofc control wildfires raging. along the east coast, burning thousands. of acres, forcing people from their. homes. So, we've requested resources. from all over the country. The Black. Cove complex fire scorching more than 7. and 1 half square miles southeast of. Asheville, North Carolina. The area. still hurting from Hurricane Helen. Across the border in Greenville County, South Carolina, a National Guard Chinook. helicopter dropping water on the Table.

Rock Complex fires. now more than three. square miles. And in New Jersey's. Wharton State Forest over the weekend, firefighters battling the California. branch fire that scorched roughly three. and a half square miles before being. fully contained. The fires all fueled by. bone dry conditions and gusty winds. This video from Somerville, South. Carolina, shows how fast these fires can. start from just a spark from a. landscaping crew. And overnight, powerful storms striking from Kentucky.

to Mississippi with at least one. confirmed tornado touching down in. Rolling Fork. They're still cleaning up. tonight as those storms head east. And. tonight, authorities are hoping much. needed rain from that system will help. firefighters get the upper hand on those. fires. Whit, let's hope so. Jana Norman, thank you. Now to the White House. escalating its legal battle with the. courts over President Trump's. deportation plan. The administration. appealing a federal judge's order. halting deportation flights, sending. hundreds of Venezuelan migrants to a.

notorious prison in El Salvador. Here's. ABC's senior national correspondent. Terry Moran. In the US Court of Appeals. in Washington today, a stunning. accusation from federal judge Patricia. Millet grilling a Trump administration. lawyer demanding to know why hundreds of. Venezuelans were deported to an El. Salvador prison without any due process. Nazis got better treatment under the. Alien Enemy Act. People weren't given. notice. They weren't told where they. were going. Those people on those planes. on that Saturday had no opportunity to.

file habius or any type of action to. challenge the removal. The. administration's lawyer pushing back on. Judge Millet's assertion that Germans. deported during World War II under the. same Alien Enemies Act used today got. better treatment. Well, your honor, we. certainly dispute the Nazi analogy. arguing that President Trump was. exercising core presidential powers by. deporting the Venezuelans, who the. administration has accused without. providing evidence of being violent gang. members. The administration has lashed.

out at federal judge James Boseberg for. trying to turn those deportation flights. around, accusing him of overstepping his. authority. Today, they got some backup. from a member of the appeals panel, Judge Justin Walker, a Trump appointee. Can you standing here give us an example. of a district court injunction that. enjoined a national security operation. partially overseas that survived. appellet review. The White House. standing by its decision to send the. Venezuelans to that notorious prison in. El Salvador. But tonight, the questions.

about the men in that prison are only. growing. We're looking at people now who. may be in a Salvador prison the rest of. their lives. And I think that's that's. really the problem. And in communicado. families can't reach them. The. administration acknowledges many of them. have no criminal history in the US and. lawyers for at least five of them have. filed declarations saying they have. never been gang members at all. A ruling. from the appeals court is expected. within days. Meanwhile, the judge who. first halted the administration's. efforts to deport more Venezuelans, Judge Booseberg, he reaffirmed his.

ruling today, saying each and every. plaintiff deserves a hearing is entitled. to one to determine whether the law. applies to them at all. Whit Terry Moran. in Washington. Thanks so much. Tonight, questions about the unexpected death of. a former baseball star's 14-year-old. son. Former Yankees outfielder Brett. Gardner saying his son fell ill and died. when on a family vacation in Costa Rica. Here's ABC's Trevor Alt. Tonight, the. sudden death of the son of a former. baseball star. 14-year-old Miller.

Gardner, son of retired New York Yankee. Brett Gardner, dying during a family. vacation in Costa Rica. The family says. Miller passed away peacefully in his. sleep Friday morning after falling ill. along with several other family members. Costa Rican authorities tell ABC News. it's suspected Miller died of possible. esphyxiation due to what they call. likely food intoxication, though autopsy. results are still pending. Gardy goes. Yardy. He plants one. Miller's father,

Brett, spent all 14 years of his Major. League Baseball career with the Yankees. and was part of the 2009 Championship. team. He was named an all-star in 2015, retiring in 2021. Miller's family says. their son lived life to the fullest. every single day. Like his father, he. was also an athlete, playing on his. school's baseball and football teams in. South Carolina, seen in this video. scoring a touchdown wearing his dad's. number 11. with the US State Department. says it's monitoring the local.

investigation in Costa Rica. The Yankees. also released a statement. They called. this death an unimaginable loss. Whit we. are thinking about the family tonight. Trevor, thank you. Now to the former NFL. and college football coach accused of. hacking into university databases and. accessing the accounts of more than. 150,000 college student athletes. Matt. Weiss arraigned in federal court today. He allegedly targeted female athletes. and downloaded their intimate photos. Here's ABC's Stephanie Ramos.

Former University of Michigan assistant. football coach Matthew Weiss in court. today facing federal hacking charges. Do. you have anything to say? The judge. entering a not guilty plea on his. behalf. Weiss is accused of targeting. female athletes, downloading their. intimate photos, and of taking notes, commenting on their bodies and their. sexual preferences. According to. prosecutors, the scope of this is really. incredible, beyond what you would. typically expect with this kind of. offense. Tonight, two former athletes.

from the University of Michigan are. suing Weiss, the school, and a database. firm, alleging they failed to supervise. Weiss, review his conduct, and left him. free to prey on plaintiffs and others. Prosecutors say over an eight-year. period, Weiss hacked into the database. of more than a 100 colleges and cracked. the encryption protecting the passwords, then allegedly accessed thousands of. social media, email, and cloud storage. accounts. According to the indictment, the university is not commenting on the.

lawsuit. Matthew Weiss, who previously. worked for the Baltimore Ravens, was. fired from Michigan after failing to. cooperate with the school's. investigation. If convicted, he could. face decades in prison. Wit Stephanie. Ramos, our thanks to you tonight. When. we come back, the popular ancestry. company 23 andMe files for Chapter 11. bankruptcy protection. The warning now. for consumers. And the coach fired for. pulling a player's ponytail after a big. loss. What he's saying.

tonight. Tonight, a former high school. coach from Northville, New York, fired. for pulling a player's ponytail after a. big loss, is apologizing. Jim Zulo was. seen during a state championship game. grabbing and yanking the player's hair. Zulo saying he wishes he could have. those moments back. When we come back. tonight, the warning to consumers as 23. andme files for. bankruptcy. To the index now. The. genetic information company 23 andme is. filing for chapter 11 bankruptcy. The.

company best known for its ancestry. testing kits has been struggling with. weak demand. 23 andMe says there will be. no changes to the way it protects. consumer data, but some public officials. are urging people to delete their data. from the site. Still ahead, Night Line. celebrates its historic 45th. anniversary. A look back at some of the. show's most memorable moments. ABC World News Tonight with David Mure, sponsored by Progressive.

Finally tonight, from wars to politics. to the biggest celebrities on the. planet, a look back at 45 years of Night. Line. Here are Night Line's co-anchors, Guju Chang and Byron Pittz. 45 years. This is ABC News Night Line of. taking you inside the story. So that's the Kremlin. Do you think. Mubarak will be a friend of the. Palestinian people? It all goes back to. 1980. Good evening. This is a new. broadcast. every day tracking the.

Iranian hostage crisis. Day 142 as more. than 50 Americans were held captive. Tonight, an exclusive interview with. Iran's former foreign minister. I was a. teenager and the hostages were released. There is an atmosphere of really. electric and palpable tension and. excitement here. And I jumped on my. 10-speed bike and I rode around the. neighborhood screaming, "The hostages. are free. The hostages are free." It was. the beginning of Night Line's enduring. relationship with the American public,

giving viewers a front row seat to. history. Stories from the campaign. trail. Two and a half years ago, nobody. knew my name. Bringing enemies together. What follows is a delicate negotiation. with armed men. His father was killed by. gangs. His brother was killed at the age. of 16. Rubbing elbows with A-listers. Yeah, man. We hit it all now. Just. about. What is it like to be Keith. Richards? [Laughter].

You're pretty good. You know what it is? I'm not a really good drummer, but I've. got a good feel, he said. Modestly about 15 minutes. Night Line. It is a place the country can show up. together and hear the truth. We provide. context and clarity and comfort for the. nation. And who doesn't want that before. they go to sleep? And the journey. continues. is again Night Line. celebrating its historic 45th. anniversary tonight and all this week on. ABC and Hulu. Thanks so much for. watching. I'm Whit Johnson. Good night.

Thank you for making World News Tonight. with David Mure, America's most watched. newscast.