ABC World News Tonight with David Muir Full Broadcast - May 17, 2025

Tonight, several breaking stories as we. come on the air. The deadly tornadoes. ripping through multiple states and the. threat of more severe weather lasting. for days. An explosion rocks a fertility. clinic in Palm Springs, California. And. the urgent manhunt for inmates after a. jail escape. First, those devastating. storms across the Midwest and South. Dozens of tornadoes reported across five. states. More than 20 people killed. Thousands of homes impacted. Giant trees. blocking streets. Chicago under a dust. storm warning for the very first time.

and the same areas could face more. severe storms with the threat lasting. for several days. Our weather team. tracking it all. Breaking news from Palm. Springs. A large explosion outside a. fertility clinic. The blast felt. throughout the city. Multiple injuries. Police say it appears to have been an. intentional act of violence. And what. we're learning about a suspect. The. manhunt intensifies after that daring. jailbreak in New Orleans. New video. tonight showing the 10 inmates running. free, escaping through a hole in the.

wall. Some of them still on the loose. A. multi- agency search underway. Three. jail workers suspended as authorities. investigate the possibility of an inside. job. Israel launches a new offensive. Hundreds killed as Gaza suffers through. mass hunger. Food and supplies cut off. for 10 weeks. On the eve of Pope Leo's. installation mass, the new peace. initiative offering the Vatican as a. venue for talks on ending the Russia. Ukraine war. And what we could hear. tomorrow from the first American-born. pope. Also tonight, under arrest, police.

say they've broken up an international. crime ring saying alleged thieves poses. Amazon delivery workers. A major. development in the fight against. Alzheimer's. The FDA has cleared the. first blood test that can help diagnose. the disease. and America Strong tonight. The graduate and her dog. Why both. received special honors at the. commencement ceremony. from ABC News World Headquarters in New. York. This is World News Tonight.

Good evening. Thanks for joining us on. this Saturday. I'm Whit Johnson. Multiple breaking stories as we come on. the air, including an explosion at a. fertility clinic in Palm Springs, California. Police saying it appears to. be an intentional act of violence. But. we do begin tonight with those deadly. storms and tornadoes sweeping across the. Midwest and South. More than two dozen. people killed. Drone footage captured. the widespread damage and devastation in. London, Kentucky. Homes and businesses. flattened. Lightning flashing across the.

night sky. Tens of thousands without. power tonight. Kucky's governor. declaring a state of emergency. And. those deadly twisters also targeting. Missouri. The mayor saying that 5,000. buildings were damaged or destroyed. Dozens of tornadoes reported across five. states. And the new threat, parts of the. Northeast and New England under a severe. thunderstorm watch. ABC's Alex Stone. leads us off from London, Kentucky. Across Kentucky tonight, an urgent. search for victims of the overnight.

tornadoes. Entire neighborhoods in rural. Laurel County wiped away. Homes left. exposed. Wood planks scattered on. streets. Residents helping first. responders go doortodoor to search for. victims. Kendra Foster, now injured with. a broken foot, huddled in her basement. with young children, telling me she. thought she was about to die as a storm. ripped apart her home. It was like a. bomb went off of the windows where. everything just shattered. Down the. street, 78-year-old Lonnie Nance and his.

wife jumped out of bed and took shelter. with his family in their hallway. So, you were huddling in this hallway and. the roof was coming off. It was all. disappearing. The roof was a rumbling. noise and I heard it. I looked up and it. was a going up and and leaving here. You. know, across several states, at least 27. storm victims are dead. At least 18 in. Kentucky alone, where a state of. emergency has been declared. Severe. weather impacts stretch from Texas to. New Jersey. Reported tornadoes spanning. across five states. In Indiana, this.

post office destroyed in the town of. Clear Creek. Neighbors say it was a. center of town where they gathered to. see each other and swapped stories. Now. gone. We got all of the box mail out um. because we have to secure the mail. Is. it emotional to see it like this now? Yes, I've already done cried. Already. cleanup is beginning in Clear Creek. Elsewhere in Missouri, this deadly. tornado reported in Scott County. At. least two people killed there and at. least five people are dead in St. Louis. Crews working throughout the day to.

clear down trees. Hundreds of thousands. still without power across several. states. The powerful storms also. triggering a rare dust storm, something. not seen here since the 1930s dust bowl. Strong winds making visibility near. zero, blocking out the. sun with these tornadoes came through in. the middle of the night, ripping these. homes off of their foundations. We just. learned this home came from across the. street about a hundred yards. People. survived in their bathtubs and. basements. Whit just an awful sight. behind you. Alex Stone, thank you. Let's.

get right to meteorologist Danny Beckrom. from our New York station WABC. And. Danny, this weather threat could last. for days. Several more days, several more rounds. of the severe weather threat that. continues into the start of the work. week. Whit. Now, the system that. produced the severe outbreak we just saw. still bringing strong storms tonight. from upstate New York into northern New. England as a new threat unfolds in the. central US. We have severe thunderstorm. watches tonight for parts of New York, Vermont, and New Hampshire through. sunset with damaging wind and large hail. possible. But this new system triggers.

several days of severe weather from the. Great Plains to the Heartland starting. tonight with numerous severe storms. possible in the Dallas Fort Worth area. Sunday's storm target Texas to Nebraska. with damaging wind, large hail, and. strong tornadoes possible. On Monday, this risk shifts slightly to the east, putting cities like St. Louis back in. the bullseye. Whit. All right, we'll be. tracking it into next week. Danny, thank. you. Now to the breaking news in Palm. Springs, California. At least one person. is dead and five others injured after a. massive explosion near a fertility. clinic. Police saying this appears to be.

an intentional act of violence. The FBI. and ATF also responding tonight. Here's. ABC's Cristian Cordderero with late. details just coming in. Tonight, federal. investigators are on the scene of a. massive blast outside of a fertility. clinic in Palm Springs, California. A. vehicle exploding in a parking lot near. the clinic. It looks like this is going. to be multiple buildings. uh with.

damage. Got active fire from one vehicle. in a parking lot. At least one person. who was believed to be the suspect was. killed. Five others hurt. Firefighters. racing to put out the fire and search. for victims. We do have a medical for a. victim from the explosion. Police. quickly cordoning off the area. Several. nearby businesses badly damaged. Windows. shattered on this liquor store across. the street. Look at this liquor store. Oh my god. The glass windows of a nearby.

Denny's blown out. Debris scattered. across the typically busy Indian Canyon. Drive. The FBI and ATF now helping in. the search for other explosive devices. Witnesses say the blast could be heard. throughout the city. We heard this loud. noise. It shook all of our building. Our. patients were scared. We actually. thought something had hit our building. With the FBI is investigating whether. this is intentional. The fertility. clinic tonight offering condolences to. the families affected, adding, quote,

"Our lab, including all eggs, embryos, and reproductive materials remains fully. secure and undamaged." Whit Cristian. Cordderero, thank you. Now to the urgent. manhunt after a brazen jailbreak in New. Orleans. Stunning surveillance video. capturing inmates opening a cell door. and then running away. Some recaptured, but seven inmates still on the loose. tonight. Three jail employees have now. been suspended and authorities raising. the possibility of an inside job. Here's.

ABC's Faith Abubet. Tonight, seven fugitives considered. armed and dangerous are on the run after. a daring jailbreak in New Orleans. Dramatic surveillance video showing the. moment of their escape from the Orleans. Parish Jail early Friday morning. Stunning images showing a hole carved in. a wall behind a toilet. A taunting. message left behind to easy lol. All of. this had been removed and these have. been clean cut. An urgent multi- agency. manhunt joined by hundreds of local,

state, and federal law enforcement. officials now in its second day. Three. of the escaped inmates have since been. recaptured. But among those still at. large, a man convicted of seconddegree. murder. Authorities are appealing to the. public for help in apprehending the. others. Please, we need the public's. help. It's your city. It's your state. We want it safe for your family, your. friends. The fugitives are benefiting. from a significant head start. According. to authorities, the technician meant to. be watching the area had taken a break.

to get food at the time of the escape. It wasn't until the following morning's. headcount, more than 7 hours later, that. prison officials realized the inmates. were missing. New Orleans Sheriff Susan. Hudson said crumbling infrastructure and. staff shortages contributed to the. security breach and even suggested that. it could have been an inside job. We. know that they had help. We're showing. you they had help. This was coordinated. The district attorney, meanwhile, blasting those responsible for what he. called a disaster of epic proportions.

It's an absolutely unmitigated. catastrophe. It's absolutely a. breakdown. And with three jail employees have now. been suspended pending the outcome of an. internal investigation. Whit Faith. Abubet, thank you. Overseas now to. Israel launching a deadly new offensive. in Gaza. Israeli officials say they are. pressuring Hamas to release the. remaining hostages and it follows days. of deadly strikes across the region, killing hundreds of people. We want to. warn you, these images are disturbing.

Here's ABC's Lama Hassan. [Music]. The first images of Israel's major new. offensive called Operation Gideon's. Chariots. Israel unleashing its. deadliest strikes on Gaza, killing at. least 300 Palestinians since. Thursday. Poundounding areas across the. entire strip. Civilians bearing the. brunt of the. bombings. Many of the injured quickly. rushed to the hospital anyway they can.

This boy brought in on the back of a. flatbed truck. A young girl lying on a. stretcher, an IV in her. arm. This woman crying over her body. For those in Gaza, the renewed attacks. come after 10 weeks of no food and. crucial aid. Aid organizations sounding. the alarm about an imminent famine. ABC's Diaz reporting from inside Gaza. Hour by hour, it's getting worse. The. people are being killed and the homes.

are being uh bombed and literally there. is no safe. place. With more reinforcements on the. way, the IDF says it's designed to seize. strategic areas of Gaza, attack Hamas, and force them to release the remaining. 57 Israeli. hostages. With Israel and Hamas are now. holding a new round of talks in Qatar to. try to end the fighting. All the while. this punishing siege on Gaza continues. No food, no water, no humanitarian aid.

is entering the strip. Where Lama. Hassan, our thanks to you tonight. Now. to the installation mass for the first. American pontiff just hours away. Pope. Leo the 14th offering the Vatican as a. location for peace talks between Russia. and Ukraine. This as President Trump. says he plans to speak with Russian. President Vladimir Putin on Monday. ABC's Maggie Roelly joins us from the. Vatican. And Maggie, what more are you. learning about this tonight? Hey, Whit. Yeah. Just today, Secretary of State. Marco Rubio said that the Vatican could. be a venue to host Russia Ukraine peace.

talks, acknowledging that it's a quote. place both sides would be comfortable. going. Now, there's a long-standing. offer from the Holy Sea to host these. talks. And the Vatican has a tradition. of being neutral when it comes to. diplomacy. Most recently, we saw at Pope. Francis's funeral that now iconic photo. of President Trump meeting with. President Sullinsky of Ukraine. And. Whit, it seems that Pope Leo I 14th is. taking an even more proactive role in. global affairs. And Whit, tomorrow, all. eyes are going to be right here on the. Vatican. We're expecting around 150.

delegations from around the world to be. right here in St. Peter Square for the. installation mass of Pope Leo. That's. the official start to his papacy. And. among them will be President Sullinsky. as well as Vice President JD Vance and. Secretary Rubio. Now remember, Vance was. here just about a month ago to meet with. Pope Francis, one of the last people to. see Pope Francis alive, but when at this. point it's unclear if Pope Leo will be. meeting with Vance or Rubio tomorrow. Whit, we'll be watching. Maggie, thank. you. And ABC News Live will carry. special coverage of Pope Leo the 14th's.

installation at the Vatican. That's. tomorrow morning at 4:00 a.m. Eastern. You can stream it on Hulu, Disney Plus, and other streaming apps. Next tonight, the showdown between President Trump and. the Supreme Court. The nation's highest. court temporarily blocking the president. from using the centuries old Alien. Enemies Act for deportations. ABC's. senior White House correspondents Selena. Wang in Washington tonight. Tonight, the escalating battle between. the president and the high court. The. Supreme Court extending its order.

temporarily blocking the Trump. administration from deporting Venezuelan. migrants using the Alien Enemies Act, a. centuries old wartime law that provides. its targets with little or no due. process. The 7-2 majority saying the. government did not provide the migrants. enough time or information to contest. their removal. The justice is writing. notice roughly 24 hours before removal. devoid of information about how to. exercise due process right to contest.

that removal surely does not pass. muster. The Supreme Court has said that. the government cannot shuffle people out. of the country behind closed doors. without any real notice. The Supreme. Court sending the case back to an. appeals court to decide whether the. president's use of the sweeping wartime. authority is legal. Trump lashing out on. social media, saying, "The result of. this decision will let more criminals. pour into our country. The Supreme Court. is not allowing me to do what I was. elected to do." Trump first invoked the.

law in March, justified by a so-called. invasion by the Venezuelan gang trend. deagua, a designated foreign terrorist. organization, sending more than 200. Venezuelan migrants accused of being. gang members to a notorious prison in El. Salvador. And the president is facing. another major setback with hardline. Republicans in Congress blocking the. president's budget bill from advancing, pushing for even steeper spending cuts. They're now negotiating through this.

weekend to try and get this bill back on. track. President Trump is urging his. party to unite, telling them to stop. talking and get it done. Whit Selena. Wang at the White House tonight. Thank. you. Now to the arrests of five alleged. fake delivery drivers. The dramatic. arrests in broad daylight captured on. camera and the possible ties to an. international burglary crew. Here's. ABC's Ashin Singh. This is the moment California police. arrested five suspects they say are part. of a transnational organized burglary.

ring linked to a string of home. invasions across Southern California. Connected to a transnational organized. burglary group that has been targeting. communities across our region. Police. saying this Ring security camera shows. the group in action. Video shows people. dressed as delivery and Amazon drivers. One of them carrying a package entering. a home through the front door midday on. Easter Sunday. Everything was on the. floor. Literally everything. Jewelry, gum, um, handbags, um, cash,

collectibles. Police say the suspects, who they say fled before they arrived, may have been targeting that Irvine. family. Tonight, officers saying they. caught up with the group after stopping. a suspicious vehicle near the scene of a. burglary, adding the driver claimed to. be delivering food, but couldn't say. where. Detectives soon identified him as. 24year-old John Osorio Aras. That. traffic stop leading to a months-long. investigation and the arrest of four. others. nearby. And Whit, those home burglaries.

have actually been down in recent years, but authorities are warning residents to. stay vigilant, especially when it comes. to answering the door for those. unexpected packages. Wit important. information Ashin Singh thank you. there's much more ahead on World News. Tonight this Saturday the first blood. test that could help diagnose. Alzheimer's disease and Nicks fans. celebrating in the streets climbing. light poles after a win 25 years in the. making. Could we see another big. celebration. tomorrow? Next tonight, the FDA has. cleared the first blood test that could.

help diagnose Alzheimer's disease for. those 55 and older with symptoms. The. test measures two proteins that are. linked to amalloid plaques in the brain. which are among the hallmarks of. Alzheimer's. The CDC estimates 6.7. million Americans are living with. Alzheimer's, a brain disorder that. affects thinking skills. When we come. back, two of basketball's rising stars. renew their. rivalry. If you love basketball, this is. your time of year. In the WNBA, Caitlyn.

Clark's Indiana Fever beat the Chicago. Sky and rival Angel Reese. Earlier, the. New York Liberty opened their season. with a win over Las Vegas. And in the. NBA, wild celebrations in New York City. overnight after the Knicks eliminated. the Boston Celtics to make the Eastern. Conference Finals for the first time in. 25 years. People taking to the streets, some fans even climbing up light poles. In the West, Oklahoma City meets Denver. tomorrow in game 7. That's at 3:30. Eastern right here on ABC. And still.

ahead, graduation times two and a big. surprise. America Strong tonight, the. graduation walk shared with a best. friend. A special graduation at Rollins. College. Honors chemistry student. Cecilia Hernandez on stage with her. service dog Canela about to pick up her. diploma when she received a big. surprise. In addition to presenting. Cecilia with her diploma, we also wish. to recognize the service companion who. has accompanied her throughout her.

Rollins career, Canela. I'm very pleased to present this. service badge to Canela in rec. recognition of her contributions to. Cecilia's success at Rollins. A. milestone Cecilia did not think would. happen four years ago due to mounting. health issues related to her heart and. immune system. I overcame so much. already just to get through high school. How am I going to make it through. college? But with help from her. four-legged friend, her dream became a. reality. Canela went through 6 months of.

special safety training to be with. Cecilia in the chemistry lab, even. outfitted with safety goggles, booties, and a protective vest. Once I had her by. my side, I was able to actually envision. myself getting to graduation. Cecilia. now pursuing a PhD in organic chemistry. with Canela right there by her side. Quite the duo. Thanks so much for. watching tonight. Have a great night. Thank you for making World News Tonight. with David Mure, America's most watched.

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