ABC World News Tonight with David Muir Full Broadcast - Oct. 26, 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 Plus. Most watched, most trusted now on Disney Plus every night. Tonight, we have breaking news as we come on the air. in the West, just in the DOJ now seeking to indict. James Comey for a third time. Meanwhile, what we've learned, also the hijacking scare. that forced a passenger jet on its way to Newark to. make an emergency landing. First, just moments ago, news the Justice Department is.

seeking to charge former FBI Director James Comey, seeking. to indict him for a third time. Pierre Thomas standing by with late reporting. It all comes just one week before the midterms. Tonight, the early voting in record numbers. across this country. What it shows so far and what they're seeing in Texas. Also breaking tonight, the flood alerts on both coasts. Dangerous wind gusts, homes in danger, a dangerous king tide hitting from Florida. up to the Carolinas and up and down the California coast.

Ginger Zee standing by. The potential hijacking scare, forcing United Flight. headed to Newark to land. What a flight attendant noticed, a passenger now charged tonight. The urgent manhunt underway for a convicted murderer. escaping prison and just in tonight this image, authorities. say the stolen truck for the getaway outside New York City. The two teenage girls on a bicycle hit by an SUV and. killed tonight the teenager, a former classmate now. charged overseas tonight.

The critical election in Israel. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu battling for. his political survival. And we'll go to Matt Rivers in Israel. Back in the U.S., disturbing video tonight showing a former. Dallas Cowboys star face down and handcuffed. What he claims tonight and what led to the confrontation. In New York City, police searching for a suspect. wanted for a horrific sex assault in Central. Park. The NBA star suffering. a gruesome leg injury on the court. We do have news on his condition.

Tonight here remembering the voice behind so. many iconic characters. From Bugs Bunny to Tweety to Elmer Fudd. Also tonight right here the tributes for a beloved. actor from Star Trek. 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 begin tonight with the breaking headline.

at this hour, just one week before the midterms. and just in, we have learned the Justice. Department is now seeking new charges against former. FBI Director James Comey, seeking to indict him. now for a third time. Comey, a frequent target of President Trump. Let's get right to our Chief Justice Correspondent, Pierre. Thomas, with us live tonight. Pierre, what have you learned? David, newly unsealed court documents revealed. today that DOJ is seeking to prosecute former. FBI Director James Comey for a third time, accusing him of. allegedly disclosing national security information in 2016.

The investigation into Comey relates to information. published in the New York Times that DOJ believes. contain classified material. Comey's attorney fired back in a statement saying the. investigation is the latest in a long line of moves to harass. his client, long one of President Trump's top political. targets. Comey today posted a. video calling the newly revealed investigation. an "appalling abuse by DOJ.". And it comes on the same day a judge ruled Comey's daughter. Maureen was illegally fired and should be reinstated.

as a federal prosecutor. The fight between Comey and Trump continues, David. All right, Pierre Thomas leading us off here on. the breaking news tonight. Pierre, thank you. Of course, all of this coming just one week before the. high stakes midterms that will decide the balance. of power in Congress. Tonight, early voting already in record numbers across this. country, more than 30 million votes cast in 47 states so far. And what they're seeing in Texas. Here's Jay O'Brien. Tonight, President Trump headed to deep red Mississippi, a. state that hasn't elected a And, of course,

there's the Democrat. The Democrat to the Senate in more than 40 years, a sign. of just how tight these races are with the election. just a week away. Early voting now exploding, more than 30 million. ballots cast in 47 states, some states shattering. records. In Texas, more than 20. percent of registered voters have already voted. Outside one polling place in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, voter Kaylee. Kearney giving voice to what so many are feeling. Prices are getting out of control. And I'm like, I have to pick and choose what I want.

I can't get like everything. Gas prices are out of control, you know, with like the war in Iran. Over the weekend, President Trump boasting Americans may. be paying more at the pump, but oil companies are making, quote, a freaking fortune. The United States oil and gas business is making hundreds. of billions of dollars. We're. But in Michigan, former President Barack Obama.

says for American families, things are getting. worse.

The former president campaigning with Michigan's Abdul Al-Sayed, who could become the nation's first Muslim senator. Trump leaning into Islamophobic attacks, branding Al-Sayed a, quote, "jihadist," calling him by his middle name, Muhammad. He would be the only senator that will have to go through. a metal detector before he's allowed to go into the Senate. I want him to have a metal detector.

The candidate firing back. I don't care how he pronounces my name. I don't even care that he remembers my whole name, because. he can just go on and call me senator after November. On the ground in Michigan, voters kept telling me one. thing, costs are too high. This is all ground fresh. At Westland's Apple Market in Lansing, grocer Gerald Westland. says his customers are pinching pennies. Have you seen the price of all of this stuff go up? And again, David, tonight President Trump is headed to.

Mississippi, a state he won by 23 points, a sign of. just how tight some of these races have gotten. He'll campaign in Texas tomorrow, his fourth. visit there in just the last few months, David. All right, Jay O'Brien, we'll see you one week from tomorrow. night for election night right here on ABC. Jay, thank you. At this hour, we are tracking flood alerts and dangerous. winds on both coasts. In fact, what's called a dangerous king tide hitting from. Florida all the way up to the.

Tonight, powerful king tides battering both coasts, slamming beachfront homes in Southern California and. stranding cars in South Florida. The Pacific Ocean gushing through homes in Newport Beach, tides rising higher there than ever before, flooding. businesses and streets. flooding businesses and streets. This man on Balboa Island using a dustpan, fighting desperately to protect his business. near the Catalina Island Ferry. In Huntington Beach, cars pulled up on the sidewalk,

waves lapping at garage doors. In Long Beach, an army of workers now. using heavy equipment trying to build. back the beaches. These pipes pumping out millions of cubic feet of sand. And the East Coast is dealing with their own coastal. floods, swamping neighborhoods from Charleston to West Palm. Beach in Fort Lauderdale. This is a sight to see. I've never seen Hollywood Beach this much water. And floods continue to plague the desert southwest. New video shows Arizona Rangers executing a daring.

extraction, saving a family of four from this SUV. First responders in New Mexico say since the San Juan. River started overflowing its banks, they've rescued. as many as 300 people. And, David, we have workers right here on the beach. with dozers and excavators building up this protective. wall of sand 24/7. But so many of these homes are already damaged here, and the coastal flood advisory is going to remain. in effect until Thursday. David, you had these dangerous tides on both coasts tonight.

Trevor, all our thanks to you. Let's get right to chief meteorologist Ginger Zee with. us here on a Monday night. Hi, Ginger. Hi, David. While the full moon of last night was the main culprit for. the king tides on both coasts, There's one other factor, at. least on the east, that high pressure system that has kept. us dry with the beautiful autumn weather for a week or more. east of the Rockies, that is driving onshore flow in. concert with those king tides. So it's pushing a bunch of water. That's why we still have coastal flood alerts up, even though. we've peaked from Brunswick to Jacksonville, down to.

West Palm and Homestead. But you see those wind advisories all the way. inland to Orlando for gusts up to 40 miles. On top of that, the water is making big waves. and that is pushing toward the coast as well, up to six foot. And along the West Coast, David, we have these coastal flood. alerts from the Bay Area to San Diego until Thursday. Ginger Zee on assignment in Chicago where she did. the weather for years. Ginger will see it first thing in the morning on GMA. To the other news, on this Monday night, the arrest. and new charges after a potential hijacking. The United Airlines Flight attendant noticed the pilot was.

being scared and forced a United flight from Las Vegas to Newark. to make an emergency landing. What a flight attendant noticed, telling the pilot, and you're. about to hear that pilot then calling air. traffic control. Here's Gio Benitez. Tonight, the terrifying text message forcing. a United Airlines plane to make an emergency. landing. The flight attendant saw him. texting that he was going to hijack the aircraft. An alert flight attendant notifying the flight deck. The pilots telling air traffic control the. cockpit is locked down. Oh, and the passenger does not know anything is going on.

United Flight 1681 departing smoothly from Las Vegas Saturday. night, bound for Newark, loaded with fuel and. 150 passengers and six crew members on board. But then turning around shortly after takeoff, the passenger. identified in court records as 25-year-old. Dante Raymond Milne. 1681, once you can let me know, please let me. know if the passenger is compliant or restrained. So, no restraint, passenger is compliant because he's unaware.

1681, excellent, glad to hear it, thank you. And David, it's unclear if the text was a joke, but. clearly authorities are taking it very seriously. He was arrested and faces terroristic threat charges. He's out on bail. Gio Benitez reporting tonight. Thank you, Gio. Tonight, the urgent manhunt underway right. now for a convicted murderer escaping prison. in Tennessee. Authorities say Jacob Morley was serving a life sentence. for killing a longtime friend when he broke out of the. Northwest Correctional Complex.

He was discovered missing last night. Surveillance showing him breaching the perimeter fence. But late today, authorities were covering a stolen truck. that they say was taken after Tonight, outside New York City, that horrific story, the two teenage girls on a bicycle. hit by an SUV in New Jersey and killed. The teenager, a former classmate, charged. and in court today. Here's Aaron Katersky. It was a horrific crime that stunned a quiet. New Jersey suburb. A black SUV flew down the road and hit people. This woman is on the floor.

Two Cranford High School seniors, Maria Niotis. and Isabella Salas, best friends, mowed down. by a speeding SUV while riding a bike. And tonight, one year later, a former classmate charged with. their murder is pleading not guilty. Vincent Bettoloro, now 18, is accused of lying in wait, then. gunning his Jeep and ramming the girls at 70 miles per hour. They were inseparable. The world lost two rays of sunshine that day. Their dreams will never be lived and nothing will.

bring our girls back. Today, their families packed the courtroom and their. lawyers accused the suspect of stalking Maria Niotis for. months and harassing her family. They said they reported him multiple times. The Niotis family was crying out for help. They were crying out for help for their daughter, for. the safety of the community. And somewhere along the way, they were failed. And David, the suspect's lawyer is raising the possibilities. of an insanity defense and of moving the trial away from. a community where the deaths of these two girls is still.

so painful. David? Aaron Katersky with us tonight. Aaron, thank you. Overseas tonight, the critical election in Israel. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu now battling for. his political survival. Let's get right to Matt Rivers in Jerusalem. Matt. David, we're just hours. away from polls opening in these critical. elections here in Israel, the first national election. since the October 7th attacks and the war in Gaza. And Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is. fighting for his political survival, facing a strong. opposition led by former Israeli General Gady Eisenkot.

Now, ultimately, this election will be a referendum on. Netanyahu's leadership. He's taken the fight to Hamas, Hezbollah and Iran. But the deaths of tens of thousands of civilians. has damaged Israel's standing on the world. stage and questions about potential warning signs. before that October 7 attack if Netanyahu. paid enough attention to them. President Trump has endorsed Netanyahu. And it all comes as both leaders weigh resuming strikes on. Iran, Israel very much on edge tonight as it's set.

to pick a new leader. All right, Matt Rivers in Jerusalem. Matt, thanks. Meantime, the results of another. election tonight, Brazil's left-wing president. winning a surprise fourth term, holding off a shift to the right. across the region. President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. defeating right-wing challenger Flavio Bolsonaro. in a runoff there, gaining more than 10 million. votes in the second round of voting. Bolsonaro refusing to concede his father, former. President Jair Bolsonaro, also lost to Lula. He's now under House arrest for. an attempted coup. Meantime, back here in the U.S.

tonight, disturbing video this evening showing a former. Dallas Cowboys star, Des Bryant, face down and. handcuffed in Texas. What he claims tonight and what led to that confrontation. Here's Stephanie Ramos. Tonight, this is the moment former Dallas Cowboys star. Des Bryant says police held him handcuffed and face. down after an altercation outside a Texas restaurant, a. Brian Teta, Andy Beshear, Jay O'Brien, Ginger.

Zee, Lee Goldberg, Rachel Scott, David Muir, Brian says moments earlier he was cut off by two drivers. on his way to the restaurant. He says they all parked outside and there was an argument. Brian claimed one of the men threatened to shoot him. before calling the police, but no one had a gun. The three-time NFL pro bowler said when police arrived, they pointed a gun at him and ordered all of them to get down. He later said he was confident he had done nothing wrong. and was more worried about his children.

Des Bryant was later released and issued a citation. for assault by contact. That is a misdemeanor. He's now calling for an investigation. Police say they drew their weapons as a precaution. to ensure the safety of everyone at the scene. Stephanie Ramos reporting tonight, Steph. Tonight, a 15 year old has been arrested and is facing attempted. murder charges for a mass shooting near Florida. A&M University. Police arrested Anthony Rivers for the shooting. that left 12 people injured, including six children, the. youngest victim just 11. Detectives say none of the victims were intended targets.

The shooting reportedly stemming from dispute. Authorities say Rivers will be charged as an adult. Tonight, the economy and artificial. intelligence this evening, Microsoft revealing major. cuts to its workforce as it restructures for. massive investments in A.I. The company offering voluntary buyouts to about 60,000. workers around the world, more than one quarter. of its employees. That includes Windows, Copilot and Xbox divisions, Microsoft among the tech giants, spending hundreds of. billions of dollars on chips and AI. data centers now. When we come back in New York City tonight, police searching for a suspect wanted.

for a horrific sex assault in Central Park. Also the cruise ship collided with two other ships, you'll see it, and the tributes to a. beloved actor from Star Trek. And that NBA star suffering a gruesome leg injury. on the court. We do have news coming in on his condition tonight. A lot more news ahead here. I'll be right back. Tonight here the cruise that took that frightening turn. when the vessel collided with two cargo ships. in Western Germany. Passengers watching as the cruise liner. hit the docked ships. Those passengers scrambling to the other side of the boat.

as they heard the scraping. Police say stormy weather caused the ship. to drift toward the dock. No one was hurt. The rest of that voyage was canceled. Back here in the US in New York City tonight, an urgent search for the man suspected. in a horrific sex assault in Central Park. Police say the man threatened a woman at knife point on. Saturday before dragging her into a wooded area. and assaulting her. A bystander calling 911 as the man ran away. Officers tonight now reviewing area surveillance video to. try to track down the suspect. When we come back on the broadcast tonight, the NBA star suffering that gruesome leg injury.

on the court. We have news on his condition tonight, and we remember the. voice behind so many iconic characters from Bugs. Bunny to Tweety to Elmer Fudd in a moment here. To the innics of other news, Oklahoma City Thunder. star Jaylen Williams suffering a gruesome. injury on the court. Williams went up for that dunk and then had a bad landing. His left leg collapsed. He suffered a fractured fibula and dislocated his left ankle. There's still no word tonight on when he'll return. He was the voice behind so many iconic cartoons. Voice actor Eric Bauza has died.

Bowsa was the modern voice for Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Porky Pig, and dozens of other animated characters. The L.A. County Medical Examiner revealing Bowsa died. of hypertensive heart disease. He was just 46 years old. In Florida tonight, a mom and dad outraged after they say. police were called on their son, a toddler, at a soccer. game because he was too good. Cell phone video shows three-year-old Nevada running. circles around his competition. The call reportedly came from the youth sports director. after some parents got upset that their kids weren't.

getting a chance at the ball. The police arrived and asked Nevada and his family to leave. Nevada's parents tonight saying the league offered. them a refund and told them he could play in another. league hours away for free. The boy's parents now want the league to reverse all of this. and let him play at home saying if he's just three and he's. that good, just let him play. When we come back here tonight, the tributes for a beloved actor. from Star Trek in a moment. Finally tonight here, remembering a well-known star. from the original Star Trek. Actor Walter Koenig was a mainstay on Star Trek.

Does everybody know about this wee bit me? Well, not everyone, Captain. It's a Russian invention. Oh. Playing Pavel Chekov, the Russian navigator on the TV series and. seven of the Star Trek movies. Yes, sir. It makes me homesick, just like Russia. Famously known for his accent in the series, he was. actually born in Chicago. The chauvinism the character expressed was really. sort of tongue in cheek. I know this saying. It was invented in Russia.

The character was young and relatively benign. Today, we learned Walter Koenig died at the age of 90. at his home in Los Angeles. His Star Trek co-star George Takei, who played. Sulu tonight, saying, My heart is heavy. Walter was more than Chekhov. He was a writer, a teacher, a thoughtful man, a loyal friend. Tonight, Walter Koenig on what he. always hoped audiences saw in Star Trek. There was humor. There was profound sense of fellowship.

And I think that was representative of what. people really are like, I don't think we were ever cardboard characters. And I think that was very important. Pointing to the humor and the fellowship on Star Trek, remembering Walter Koedig. 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.