ABC World News Tonight with David Muir Full Broadcast - September 30, 2025

Tonight breaking news, the U.S. barreling toward a government shutdown just hours away the. shutdown set for midnight. If there's no congressional agreement on funding, both parties tonight pointing the finger. at the other. President Trump threatening to fire federal workers. Democrats say they want Medicaid cuts restored and to keep. health insurance premiums from going up for millions. Tonight the U.S. military's top brass summoned to Quantico, Virginia, 800 top officers. Secretary Hegseth outlining his vision for them, what's now.

expected of military leaders, talking about the highest male. standard only for those who serve in the U.S. military. Then President Trump on stage. saying if you don't like what I'm saying, leave the room, adding, of course, there goes your rank. The president saying he's told Secretary Hegseth. we should use some dangerous cities as training. grounds for the military. Tonight, poems collapsing into the ocean, powerful. waves slamming parts of the east coast, a very rare. scenario to hurricanes right off the coast so. close together.

Lee Goldberg tonight on this rare. Fujiwara effect feeding off each other and the new track tonight. where they're headed. Tonight, the chilling new clues. after the deadly shooting and fire set at a Michigan. church. What we've now learned tonight. about that suspect. Authorities say he once stated a woman of Mormon faith. they broke up and what he said after returning from Utah. Tonight prosecutors telling the judge they want Sean. Combs to serve more than a decade in prison. What defense attorneys are saying about that. Tonight take a close look at this actor.

and now the growing backlash tonight. The actor AI generated, created by artificial intelligence. and now looking for work. There are many opinions on this. Tonight, the famous couple breaking up actress. to cold Kidman filing for divorce from her husband, country music star Keith Irvin, Kidman and what she. reveals in her filing. The controversy over the woman who appears. to snatch Patrick Mahomes headband from a child. It has gone viral and what's happened now? And America's strong tonight, the grandson.

and what he was determined to do with his grandfather. And you won't believe what that grandson has brought to life. From ABC News, World Headquarters, and New. York, this is World News Tonight with David. New York. Good evening. We begin tonight here with the breaking news, the federal. government barreling toward a shutdown set for midnight, both parties blaming the other. President Trump tonight threatening to fire. federal workers and to cut programs and benefits,

saying he can do things that are irreversible. Tonight, Democrats say they want Medicaid cuts restored. and to keep health insurance premiums. from going up for millions. And Democrats say Republicans would rather shut. the government down than protect the health care. of the American people. Both sides tonight digging in with this shutdown. now hours away affecting millions of Americans. Rachel Scott leading us off tonight. Tonight, with the government set to shut down. at the stroke of midnight. President Trump now threatening to fire quote, a lot of federal workers if Democrats don't back down.

-We'd be laying off a lot of people. that are going to be very affected. -Democrats holding firm, demanding that Republicans. reverse cuts to Medicaid and extend expiring. Obamacare subsidies to prevent insurance premiums. from rising for some 20 million Americans. -They'd rather shut the government down. than protect the health care of the American people. That's unfathomable. Today, the president's turning up the pressure. Now warning he could slash government programs. We can do things during the shutdown that are irreversible,

that are bad for them, and irreversible by them, like cutting vast numbers of people out, cutting things that they like, cutting programs that they like. He even floated the idea of cutting benefits. without saying which ones. We can do things medically and other ways, including benefits. Tonight, I brought his words, the Democratic Senate minority. leader, Chuck Schumer. The president is now threatening these irreversible cuts. to the workforce to programs. Is that a risk that Democrats are willing to take?

It will fall on him, as I said. He's the one doing the firings, not Democrats. Even without the fear of layoffs, if the shutdown happens, as many as four million. federal employees could go unpaid. In Thompson, Illinois, that means prison officers. already stretched then now push to the max. We need the government to stay open so. that we don't have to live off our credit cards. That we don't have to take multiple. loans just to pay our mortgage to pay our daily necessities. And families of roughly two million service members could.

feel the pinch too. Jamie billard, whose husband is in. the Coast Guard is preparing to tell her kids they'll have. to scale back on things like dinners out and picture day. at school. What are we set as a priority? Your dad's not getting paid right now. That's That's our sole. source of income. You know, I said no because there's bigger. things happening here. - David said it Republicans forced a vote on a bill to. keep the government funded, but Democrats overwhelmingly. rejected it because it did not include any of their demands. So tonight all signs are pointing toward a government.

shutdown in just a few hours, David. - Just hours from now, Rachel Scott leading a. soft Rachel thank you. tonight the U.S. military's top brass summoned to Quantico, Virginia, 800 top officers. Secretary Hegseth outlining his vision. what's now expected of those military leaders. and talking about the highest male standard only. for all of those who serve in the U.S. military. Then President Trump on stage, the president saying he has told Secretary Hegseth. we should use some dangerous cities. as training grounds for our military.

Here's Martha Raditz. In an unprecedented meeting, which the former weekend Fox. and Friends host broadcast live, Secretary Pete Hague-Seth, warning hundreds of combat-tested. generals, admirals, and senior officers flown in from. around the world that the military under his leadership. will be dramatically changed. No more identity months, DEI offices, dudes, and dresses. no more climate change worship, no more division,

distraction or gender delusions, no more debris. We are done with that. (beep). While the generals in Admiral sat largely silent. through the speech, Higgseth said military fitness. and standards will be enforced. No more fat generals or admirals, he said. I don't want my son serving alongside troops. who are out of shape. Or in combat unit with females who can't meet the same. combat arms physical standards for those ground combat roles, which women have been performing for more than a decade.

The high male standard will now be the norm if that means no. women qualify for some combat jobs so be it and hegseth. defending the firing of more than a dozen senior officers, including the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, CQ Brown and the head of the Navy, Lisa Frank Hetty for too long. We've promoted too many uniform leaders for the wrong reasons. Based on their race, based on gender quotas, based on.

historic so-called firsts. But Hegseth was not just talking personnel, but policy. The rules of engagement meant to protect civilians and. non-combatants, those, he said, have become. too politically correct. We also don't fight with stupid rules of engagement. We untie the hands of our war fighters to intimidate, demoralize, hunt, and kill the enemies of our country. President Trump then took the stage to address the officers. If you don't like what I'm saying, you can leave the room.

Of course, that goes your rank, that goes your future. Telling his audience of some of the most experienced war. fighters in a generation, the military should. practice on American cities. I told Pete, we should use some of these dangerous. cities as training grounds for our military. And David, I am told that many of the officers in the audience. were especially jarred by those remarks about. training in American cities. Others say they are now thinking about where their red lines.

are because David, Hegseth made clear that if they don't. like what they are hearing from him, they should resign. David. Martha Raditz in. Washington tonight. Martha, thank you. Tonight, we're watching two hurricanes very close together. right now off the east coast. Hurricane Zumberto and Imelda and the so-called Fujiwara. effect feeding off each other. Homes have already collapsed into the ocean and tonight Lee. Goldberg with the new track where they're both headed. first Victoricando with the images for us. Tonight powerful waves fueled by hurricanes.

Umberto Enemeldo pounding the outer banks, sending. multiple homes crashing into the Atlantic Ocean. Video from our station WVC showing at least five homes. toppling into the ocean within 45 minutes in Bucksdon, North Carolina. Massive piles of splinter debris strewn across the sand, the. roof of one home resting in the surf. The storms delivering a final blow to some of these. homes. All of them unoccupied and expected to eventually.

succumb to Mother Nature. For years this area has grappled with. devastating coastal erosion. This boxed in home crumbling into the water just two weeks. ago. Back in August, officials in nearby Rodanthe told. us they were concerned about these houses, completely exposed as a different hurricane, Erin made it glancing blow. In all, at least 17 homes have collapsed. in the last five years. - David, there were no injuries. Part of that beach is now closed and visitors are being. urged to stay away.

- David, Victor Akenda with us, Victor, thank you. Let's get right to Chief Meteorologist Lee Goldberg. at WABC, timing both of these hurricanes. with this new track, Haley. - Hi David, and we're seeing an example. of a rare phenomenon called the Fujiwara effect. And that's when two tropical systems that are close enough. to each other interact. They do a tropical tangle, if you will, and pull at each other. And in this case, Umberto is helping to tow MLD out to sea. and it's headed toward Bermuda. Umberto is weakening, but MLD is actually strengthening. It could be a cat too as it approaches Bermuda as. we go through tomorrow night, causing dangerous.

surf and gusty winds even one to two inches of rain. Now remember, these storms have been the Atlantic for quite. a while, so they've been like plungers. and so rough surf will continue along the southeast coast. for a few days with up to 10 foot waves and rip cartress up. and down the eastern seaboard. It still feels like summer in the southeast, but not safe to swim. And by the way, we have a lot of cooling coming. into the northeast. It'll feel like fall for the first day of. October in the northeast. David? By the way, we're grateful for. that Fuji War effect because it's pulling it right out. to sea. We'd like to hear that, Lee. Thank you. The chilling new clues here tonight in that deadly.

shooting and fire at a Michigan church. Four people killed. Eight others hurt. tonight those who knew the suspect now saying he had dated. a woman of Mormon faith in that they broke up and what he. allegedly said after returning from Utah, Alex Perez from. the scene in Michigan again tonight here. Tonight lifelong friends of the man police say carried out. the deadly attack on a Mormon church in Michigan. Say he dated a Mormon woman and descended into. heavy methamphetamine use while living in. Utah. Peter and Francis Tercini. say after alleged gunman Thomas Jacob Sanford's.

relationship ended with the woman and he returned. to Michigan, he had changed. Peter Tercini says Sanford went on rants about Mormons, adding. it was an absolute gut punch when he learned his friend. is the man authorities say carried out the attack. Francis Tercini writing in a Facebook post, "That man that. came back from Utah wasn't the same. he was a puppet and the puppeteer was Satan. Police say the gunman in a rack war veteran. killed four people Sunday morning. And tonight we're learning about one of the heroes.

inside the church. Greg McCat's family telling ABC News he. tried to stop the gunman. He was shot three times and remains in the ICU. And David McCat's family says he is facing a long road. to recovery officials here say they are working. around the clock to pinpoint a motive. David Alex Perez on this again tonight. Alex, thank you. Tonight some of Hollywood's biggest names. are sounding the alarm over a new actor. AI generated, made by artificial intelligence. and looking for work. Judge for yourself tonight. Here's MacCupman.

You've seen just about everything on the big. screen, except this. Tillie Norwood, 100% AI generated. Tillie Norwood is an AI generated actress. gaining attention and drawing swift backlash as. interest from a number of Hollywood talent. agencies is growing. Aline Vandervelden who runs the company that created Tilly. said they will soon be in talks to have their AI character. represented by a talent agency. Vandervelden once said she wanted the AI-generated. actress to be the next Natalie Portman or Scarlett.

Johansson. Facebook and Instagram accounts. for Tilly Norwood portray it as an aspiring actress, perfectly. imperfect down to the freckles and blemishes. With the British accent to boot. Thanks for watching. The notion that Vandervelden claims the talent agents were. circling has drawn the wrath of Hollywood royalty. Emily Blunt telling Variety's Clayton Davis, "That's an AI.". "Yes, that is the...". "Good Lord. We're screwed. That is really, really scary.".

"And it's about to be signed.". What be Goldberg spoke about the loss of a human connection? Well, if you stick with this with AI, you won't have any. connection to anything but your phone. Hollywood's powerful actors union SAG after with a statement. saying creativity is and should remain human centered. The union is opposed to the replacement of human. performers by synthetics. The use of AI generated actors and voices was the main. concern of actors during their historic strike in the. summer of 2023. Tilly is the first creation from.

Sequoia, the world's first AI talent studio responding to the. controversy Vandervelden saying like many. forms of art before her Tilly sparks conversation. That in itself shows the power of creativity. And David Tilly's creator saying that those AI. generated actors are not meant to replace human. performers, but rather should be thought of as a. work of art. Some here in Hollywood already calling them. an abomination saying that they would boycott talent agencies. that hire those so-called AI-generated actors.

David, you know, it's going to be a lot of talk about this one. Mac Gump and tonight, thank you. Now to major news in the Sean Combs case tonight. Prosecutors telling the judge, Combs should serve 11 years. in prison, saying the violence at abuse associated. with his crime should be taken into account. Defense attorneys calling the recommendation draconian, they're asking that Combs be sentenced to time served. he will be sentenced on Friday. When we come back here tonight, the big controversy, the New York Yankees throwing a curveball. to Boston Red Sox fans, what's happening with the tickets? Also, the major break up tonight. Actress Nicole Kidman filing for divorce.

from her husband, country music star Keith Urban. Kidman and what she revealed in her filing. about the divorce in a moment here. Tonight news, actress Nicole Kidman. has filed for divorce from her husband, country music star Keith Urban. Kidman and what she says in her filing. after nearly 20 years of marriage. Here's Canoid Worth. Tonight, the surprise announcement, Nicole Kidman. and Keith Urban ending their nearly 20-year marriage. -I threw that! -Both superstars in their own right. All marriages are complicated.

Kidman and actress, businesswoman, and force in the entertainment industry. spoke often about her love for Urban, a force of his own, in music. ♪ Love somebody like you ♪. I'm so fortunate I've met somebody that I'm incredibly. in love with and we don't ever take it for granted. Urban honoring Kidman with his emotional tribute. last year at the AFI Lifetime Achievement Awards. She has a capacity to love like no one I've ever met. Kidman filing for divorce today in Nashville.

The couple share two teenage daughters together. This will be Kidman's second divorce after her high profile. break up with Tom Cruise in in 2001, Kidman joking with. David Letterman at the time. - Well, I can wear heels now. (audience laughing). - And David and the documents filed today, Kidman says that they've undergone marital difficulties. and irreconcilable differences that couples apparently. been living apart since the beginning. of the summer. David. - We wish them both well. - Cana, we're worth tonight. Cana, thanks when we come back here.

A move by the Yankees that has some Boston fans. furious tonight, the curve ball, and it comes to tickets. And the moment that's gone viral now, the woman who. appears to take Patrick Mahomes headband from a young fan, and what's now happened tonight in a moment. To the index of other news tonight, a landslide threatening. homes in Southern California, parts of the coastal bluff. plummeting in the ocean in Rancho Pollo Sverdez. No injuries were reported, and so far the. homes have been spared. Homeowners have been plagued by landslides in. that area in recent years.

Tonight the woman who went viral appearing to swipe Patrick. Mahomes headband from a young fan is now apologizing tonight. It happened at the end of the game between the New York. Giants and Kansas City Chiefs. After initially defending her actions, Nina Miller, a Giants. fan, now saying she mistakenly thought Mahomes was. giving her the headband. She apologized directly to that 10-year-old chiefs fan who. was celebrating his birthday. He was not given the headband. Tonight the New York Yankees taking extreme. action some say to block ticket scalping. The Yankees are now blocking ticket. sales on ticket master outside New York, New Jersey,

Pennsylvania, Connecticut ahead of their playoff. series against the Boston Red Sox. The team saying they have done this for. several years. Game one of the three game wild. card series gets underway tonight in the Bronx. But when we come back here. tonight, America's strong this evening when a grandson. was determined to do for his grandfather. and wait until you see what he brought to life tonight. Folly tonight here, the grandson helping his grandfather bring. some cherished love songs to life, America's strong. Tonight in Kenneth Square, Pennsylvania, outside.

Philadelphia, the remarkable gift for a grandfather. from his grandson. 17-year-old Mort Block joined the US Navy in 1956. While on leave, he met a woman Susan Weber. and immediately fell in love. Heading back to see while standing watch. on the USS Hazelwood, that young sailor would. write a song about the woman he just met calling it my love. ♪ I want you to know ♪. ♪ I am for you so ♪. They marry a 1960 start of family,

And that song, "Forgotten in a Draw for Decades". until that sailor's grandson, Matt, found it. Matt runs a record company with his brother Jake. and they professionally recorded their grandfather's song. ♪ How happy we would be ♪. ♪ If you came back to me in my love ♪. Releasing that song, "My Love," 64 years after it was written, set to a film from his grandparents Honeymoon. in Miami Beach.

The song going viral and the family reading through. all of the rest of the love letters written all. those years ago and tonight a new song now the lonely. We see. The longest thing that's right here tonight. At right here tonight. Hi David. That proud grandson, Matt. This is proof that love and hope and creativity can carry.

through generations and we're more than grateful for. the space in this moment. And joining us too. Hi David. that Navy veteran grandpa Mort. I'm just amazed at being an overnight success in my 80s. And tonight his message to his wife of 65 years. who has inspired all of this. I love her very much and I'm thankful. to be able to bring this to you today. Thanks again David, really appreciate it.

Well, more, thank you for your service and your music. I'll see you tomorrow, goodnight. - David Muir, the most watched newscast in America. And now, ABC's World News Tonight has won the Emmy. for Best Live News Program for the third year in a row.