ABC World News Tonight with David Muir Full Broadcast - July 23, 2025

Name: ABC World News Tonight with David Muir Full Broadcast - July 23, 2025
Uploaded: 2025-07-24T08:41:49+00:00
Duration: 19 min 51 s
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Mary Bruce has more on the Wall Street Journal Report that Attorney General Pam Bondi and her deputy Todd Blanche informed Pres. Trump in May that his name appears multiple times in the Epstein files; Kayna Whitworth reports on the statements from victims' families as Bryan Kohberger was sentenced to four consecutive life sentences for the vicious murders of four University of Idaho college students; Pierre Thomas reports as William McNeil speaks out for the first time after the violent traffic stop in Florida that he recorded; David Muir speaks with a marathon swimmer from upstate New York who made her lifelong dream a reality after finishing a nine hour marathon swim of Skaneateles Lake to raise awareness for the preservation of her hometown lake and America’s lakes and oceans; and more on tonight’s broadcast of World News Tonight with David Muir.

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00:00Tonight, we have several breaking stories as we come on the air.

00:03The first involving President Trump, the Wall Street Journal tonight,

00:07reporting that Attorney General Pam Bondi told President Trump

00:10that his name appears multiple times in the Jeffrey Epstein files.

00:14Also breaking tonight, there's been an officer ambushed.

00:17The details just coming in.

00:18And in New York City, the suspect who police say placed improvised explosive devices

00:23around the city, one thrown right onto the subway tracks.

00:27First tonight, the Wall Street Journal now reporting Attorney General Pam Bondi

00:31and her deputy, Todd Blanche, told President Trump back in May

00:34that his name appears in the Jeffrey Epstein files multiple times.

00:39The Attorney General reportedly recommending to the President at the time

00:42not to release any more files and that the President defer to the AG.

00:47How the Justice Department is now responding tonight.

00:51Also, the dramatic scene in court, raw emotion from family members

00:54and what they told the killer in the Idaho College murders.

00:57Face-to-face from him in the courtroom today, one of the survivors speaking out.

01:01And what the father of one of his victims said to Brian Koberger, standing just feet away.

01:07Also tonight, the dangerous, life-threatening heat.

01:09Nearly 140 million Americans under dangerous heat alerts at this hour

01:13from Texas all the way up to the Northeast.

01:16Tonight in Chicago, it feels like 103, even hotter tomorrow.

01:20Cincinnati, Detroit, too.

01:21And New York City will soon feel like 105.

01:24Ginger Z is standing by.

01:26Tonight, the disturbing video showing a police officer accused of punching a black driver

01:30in the face during a traffic stop.

01:32Tonight, the sheriff in that community now calling the incident ugly.

01:36And Lindsey Davis tonight interviewing the driver.

01:39In New York City, the alarming discovery.

01:41A suspect accused of allegedly leaving at least five homemade bombs on rooftops across the city.

01:47And authorities say throwing one IED right out of the subway tracks.

01:51Tonight, the heartbreaking discovery.

01:53Authorities finding the body of that missing student last seen leaving the bar.

01:57Her parents had pleaded for the public's help.

01:59And what authorities are now saying.

02:01Tonight, the alarming images in the water.

02:03Off the east coast of Florida, you will see this man attacked by a shark.

02:08And America Strong tonight.

02:09Every night here, we get story ideas from so many of you at home in hometowns across this country.

02:15Well, tonight, the idea came from my own hometown.

02:19We'll dive in, too.

02:20And we promise you'll be cheering along with that whole community tonight.

02:24From ABC News World Headquarters in New York, this is World News Tonight with David Muir.

02:35Good evening, and we begin tonight here with breaking news involving President Trump and the Jeffrey Epstein files.

02:41Tonight, the Wall Street Journal is now reporting that Attorney General Pam Bondi and her deputy Todd Blanche told President Trump back in May that his name appears in the Epstein files multiple times.

02:52Last week, when pressed by ABC's Catherine Foulders, the president denied that the attorney general told him his name was in the files.

02:58The attorney general reportedly recommending to the president at the time to not release any more files, and the president reportedly deferred to the Justice Department.

03:07And tonight, the Republican-led House Oversight Committee has now subpoenaed Jeffrey Epstein's former companion, Ghislaine Maxwell, who, of course, is serving a 20-year prison sentence.

03:16ABC's Chief White House Correspondent Mary Bruce leading us off tonight.

03:19Tonight, the Wall Street Journal reporting that Attorney General Pam Bondi and her deputy Todd Blanche informed President Trump in May that his name appears multiple times in the Epstein files.

03:32They reportedly told Trump they did not plan to release the files, saying they contained child pornography and personal information about the victims.

03:40According to the journal, the president said he would defer to their decision.

03:44Last week, when pressed by ABC's Catherine Foulders, Trump denied Bondi told him his name was in the files.

03:51What did she tell you about the review? And specifically, did she tell you at all that your name appeared in the file?

03:56No, no, she's given us just a very quick briefing, and in terms of the credibility of the different things that they've seen.

04:05The next day, I asked him.

04:07Is your name in these files, Mr. President? Is that why they aren't being fully released?

04:11The Journal reports Trump was told there were other high-profile names in the documents, noting being in the files is not evidence of wrongdoing.

04:20Tonight, the Attorney General saying nothing in the files warranted further investigation or prosecution, adding as part of our routine briefing, we made the president aware of the findings.

04:32Trump and Epstein were friendly for more than a decade, socializing in New York and Palm Beach.

04:37Epstein was asked about their relationship in a 2010 deposition in a civil suit.

04:42Have you ever had a personal relationship with Donald Trump?

04:48What do you mean by personal relationships?

04:50Have you socialized with him?

04:53Yes, sir.

04:54Yes?

04:54Yes, sir.

04:55Have you ever socialized with Donald Trump in the presence of females under the age of 18?

05:08Though I'd like to answer that question, at least today, I'm going to have to assert my 5th, 6th, and 14th Amendment rights, sir.

05:16When Epstein was arrested in 2019, Trump said they'd had a falling out and hadn't spoken in 15 years.

05:22During the campaign, some of the president's top supporters, including his current FBI director, Kash Patel, and Patel's deputy, Dan Bongino, spread ominous conspiracy theories about the Epstein case.

05:35Vice President J.D. Vance called for the release of Epstein's so-called client list.

05:39Seriously, we need to release the Epstein list. That is an important thing.

05:43In February, Bondi said that client list was in her possession.

05:47It's sitting on my desk right now to review. That's been a directive by President Trump.

05:53But over the July 4th weekend, the Justice Department and the FBI said the list doesn't exist and that they wouldn't be releasing any more information about Jeffrey Epstein.

06:03Under pressure, the president later instructed Bondi to ask courts in Florida and New York to release grand jury testimony in the Epstein case.

06:11Today, a Florida judge denied that request, saying the DOJ didn't provide enough of a justification for releasing that sensitive testimony, adding the court's hands are tied.

06:23Tonight on Capitol Hill, Republicans and Democrats on a House Oversight Committee voting to subpoena the Justice Department to release the full Epstein files.

06:32Hours earlier, the full committee issuing a subpoena to Epstein's former companion, Ghislaine Maxwell, who's serving a 20-year prison sentence for child trafficking.

06:42And David Maxwell is also planning to meet with the deputy attorney general soon.

06:46Asked tonight about that congressional subpoena, her attorney saying that upcoming meeting with the Justice Department will, quote, help inform how she proceeds.

06:54And again, it's important to note, Maxwell is serving a 20-year sentence and is looking for a way to get out.

07:00David.

07:01Mary Bruce leading us off at the White House tonight.

07:03Mary, thank you.

07:03We're going to turn in the meantime to the dramatic and heartbreaking scene in court today, the sentencing of Brian Koberger in the Idaho College Murders case.

07:11Raw emotion from family members face-to-face with the confessed murderer.

07:14What one father said to him, just feed away in that courtroom.

07:18And then what happened when the judge gave Brian Koberger an opportunity to speak?

07:22Kena Whitworth was in the courtroom in Idaho.

07:25On this final judgment day, convicted killer Brian Koberger forced to face the families of his victims and a survivor of his vicious attack,

07:33killing four college students near the University of Idaho, Kaylee Gonsalves, Madison Mogan, Ethan Chapin, and Zanna Kornodal.

07:41Kaylee's father moving the podium to look directly at the man he says stabbed his daughter 34 times.

07:49We are here to finish what you started.

07:52Today, you've lost control.

08:00Today, we are here to prove to the world that you picked the wrong families.

08:04Koberger showing no reaction as he listened to the gut-wrenching testimony from victims.

08:08Dylan, just take your time, all right?

08:10Dylan Mortensen, one of two roommates who survived the rampage, speaking for the first time, overcome with emotion as she described her trauma.

08:18I couldn't be alone.

08:23I had to sleep in my mom's bed because I was too terrified to close my eyes, terrified that if I blinked, someone might be there.

08:30I made escape plans everywhere I went.

08:36If something happens, how do I get out?

08:38It was Dylan, who saw a masked man later identified as Koberger, walk right past her that night.

08:44He is a hollow vessel, something less than human, a body without empathy, without remorse.

08:52To avoid the death penalty, Koberger pleaded guilty to stabbing the four students to death in that off-campus house.

09:20The murder is sending shockwaves across a college town and the country.

09:25And today, the victim's parents remembered the young lives full of so much promise.

09:30Maddie was my only child that I ever had.

09:36It was the only great thing I ever really did and the only thing I was really ever proud of.

09:44Zanna's mother saying she's ready to forgive.

09:46This forgiveness has released me from any and all evil you have inflicted on me and my family.

09:54But most family members lashed out at Koberger in anguish and anger.

09:58You're going to go to hell.

10:00The Gonsalves family, who wanted the death penalty today, openly mocking the former Ph.D. criminology student.

10:06You're pathetic.

10:07You aren't special or deep, not mysterious or exceptional.

10:14Kaylee's sister hammered Koberger one last time with the questions he's never answered.

10:20Where is the murder weapon?

10:22The clothes you wore that night?

10:23What were Kaylee's last words?

10:26And she tried getting under his skin.

10:28If you were really smart, do you think you'd be here right now?

10:31If you hadn't attacked them in their sleep, in the middle of the night, like a pedophile, Kaylee would have kicked your ass.

10:47Prosecutors then asking for four life sentences without parole, showing that final photo taken just 12 hours before the murders.

10:55Crying heard in the courtroom.

10:56All right, Mr. Koberger, you have an opportunity to make a statement if you wish to.

11:00I take it you are declining?

11:02I respectfully decline.

11:05Koberger declined to speak or reveal a motive before the judge gave him life behind bars with these blistering parting words.

11:12A faceless coward reached the tranquility of six beautiful young people and senselessly slaughtered them, four of them.

11:24The person that slithered through that sliding glass door at 1122 King Road now stands before the world and this court unmasked.

11:33No parent should ever have to bury their child.

11:37In my view, the time has now come to end Mr. Koberger's 15 minutes of fame.

11:41Outside the courthouse, the Gonsalves family ready to move forward.

11:44I made eye contact with him and he was enraged.

11:47He was just enraged.

11:49So, you know, mission accomplished.

11:51You know, we can move on now.

11:53We said what we needed to say.

11:55And, David, while they want to move forward here, after almost three years and everything these families have been through,

12:01they still don't have basic questions answered.

12:04Like, what was the motive?

12:06David.

12:07Kena Whitworth tonight.

12:08Kena, thank you.

12:09We turn now to the extreme heat.

12:10Nearly 140 million Americans on alert right now from Dallas to Chicago to New York City.

12:15Life-threatening heat in Chicago, it feels like 103.

12:18Tomorrow, even warmer.

12:19New York City could soon feel like 105.

12:21Let's get right to Chief Meteorologist Ginger Zee.

12:23She's tracking it all.

12:24She's live in Chicago, a city she knows well.

12:26Hi, Ginger.

12:28Yes.

12:28Hey there, David.

12:29So, yes, I know it well and it rarely gets this hot.

12:32So, we felt like 103 at peak today.

12:35It'll be even hotter tomorrow.

12:36Heat advisories go all over the map.

12:38But you can see tomorrow's extreme heat warning right down the Mississippi River from Paducah to Baton Rouge and New Orleans.

12:44The feels like there could be as high as 115.

12:47But we'll slide this east because an excessive heat watch is now up for Philadelphia.

12:51And look at the number for New York City on Friday itself, 104, 105 for Baltimore.

12:56We are going to break this heat up a bit.

12:58It's going to come with a cold front.

12:59Here it'll break up on Friday.

13:00But that cold front making damaging wind and even tornado warnings from Nebraska up to Wisconsin.

13:04David.

13:05Ginger Zee with us again tonight.

13:06Ginger, thanks as always.

13:07In the meantime, next tonight, the disturbing video showing a police officer accused of punching a black driver in the face during a traffic stop.

13:13Tonight, the sheriff in that community now calling this incident ugly.

13:17Lindsay Davis tonight interviewing the driver.

13:19And here's our Chief Justice Corps spot of Pierre Thomas.

13:21A warning now.

13:22It is disturbing.

13:24Tonight, the Jacksonville sheriff acknowledging that this video showing his deputy smashing a car window and punching the driver in the face is ugly.

13:34Show me your hand.

13:35Yet another incident raising questions about excessive force and race and policing.

13:3922-year-old William McNeil Jr. today appearing with his parents and attorneys to discuss what happened on February 19th during a routine traffic stop.

13:51Police claiming that he didn't have his headlights on in inclement weather.

13:55That he wasn't wearing a seatbelt.

13:56Allegations that McNeil disputes.

13:58There's no rain.

14:00It doesn't matter.

14:01You're still required to have headlights on.

14:03Can you call your supervisor?

14:06All right.

14:06Can you call your supervisor?

14:07All right.

14:07Go for it.

14:11Exit the vehicle now.

14:13Exit the vehicle.

14:14McNeil, who remains calm despite the powerful punch and does not fight back, is pulled out of his car as the officer delivers another punch.

14:23Officers demanding he show his hands.

14:25Court records show that McNeil pleaded guilty to resisting arrest without violence and driving with a suspended license.

14:31Police claim that he reached for a knife on the floor of his car, but body camera footage released by the police does not show McNeil reaching for a knife.

14:39McNeil speaking with our Lindsey Davis just moments ago in an interview airing on Prime.

14:45What went through your mind at that moment when the deputy broke your window and punches you in the face as you sit in the car?

14:51I was surprised.

14:54I was scared.

14:55I grew up being told that officers protect us, but that wasn't the case.

15:01The officer who smashed the window and punched McNeil has been stripped of law enforcement duties pending an internal review.

15:08David.

15:09All right.

15:09Pierre Thomas reporting live from Washington tonight.

15:12Pierre, thank you.

15:12You can see more of Lindsey's interview with the driver of that car on ABC News Live Prime later tonight.

15:18In the meantime, we turn now to the alarming discovery in New York City, a suspect accused of allegedly leaving five homemade bombs across Manhattan.

15:25Federal authorities say Michael Gann made at least seven devices stashing some of them on rooftops in Soho.

15:30He allegedly tossed one of the devices onto the subway tracks along the Williamsburg Bridge.

15:35The FBI tonight saying he had one of the devices on him when he was arrested.

15:39No word on a possible motive.

15:41Tonight, there's late word of a police ambush in Lorain, Ohio, outside Cleveland.

15:44The image is coming in now.

15:46Authorities say a heavily armed gunman opening fire on two officers in their patrol vehicles.

15:50A third officer was wounded, responding to their call for help.

15:54Authorities say the suspect was laying in wait.

15:56The gunman was shot and killed in an exchange of gunfire.

15:58Two officers are in critical condition at this hour.

16:02When we come back tonight, startling images this evening.

16:04You'll see the moment a shark attacks here in the east.

16:07Also, what we've learned tonight, the heartbreaking discovery after that student went missing, her parents had pleaded for help.

16:13And a driver barreling right into a church.

16:15What police are now saying about this moment right after the break.

16:18Tonight, authorities say they have found the body of a missing grad student in La Crosse, Wisconsin.

16:25Elliot Hines' body was pulled from the Mississippi River.

16:27Reported missing Sunday after leaving a bar.

16:29Police say they are awaiting autopsy results.

16:32Her mother tonight thanking volunteers who helped.

16:34An out-of-control car crashing into a church in Fayetteville, North Carolina.

16:38The car carerating across the parking lot, smashing right through the front door.

16:42Police say the car was stolen.

16:43The driver and passenger trying to escape police.

16:46The driver has been arrested.

16:47When we come back here tonight, the alarming video you'll see at the moment a diver is attacked by a shark here in the east.

16:54And America Strong tonight, the idea that came in from my hometown.

16:59To the index, alarming video tonight showing a diver bitten on the arm while surrounded by sharks off Jupiter Beach, Florida.

17:05The diver in the center of the screen there says he was bitten on the arm by a lemon shark after removing a fishing net stuck on its head.

17:11That diver receiving 40 stitches.

17:13When we come back here tonight, every night, we get so many ideas from all of you at home for America Strong.

17:18Well, tonight, the idea comes in from my own hometown.

17:21Finally, tonight here, we go for a swim, 32,000 strokes, 16 miles, nine hours straight.

17:30She's America Strong, and she's also a little close to home.

17:33Every night here, we hear from so many of you at home, hometowns across this country with ideas for America Strong.

17:40In the last 24 hours, we heard from many of you in my own hometown.

17:45Tonight here, the story of a young swimmer, Rachel DeWitt, and what she's now done to help raise awareness for America's lakes, to keep them pristine and to preserve them, including the one closest to her heart, Skinny Atlas Lake, one of the Finger Lakes in central New York.

18:01Rachel learned to swim in the lake.

18:03She was on the Skinny Atlas High School varsity swim team.

18:05It's even a town tradition, jumping into the lake with your cap and gown on graduation.

18:11Rachel then earning degrees in environmental science and marine biodiversity, now working for the nonprofit Ocean Conservancy.

18:19Rachel came up with an idea, how to raise money for the Skinny Atlas Lake Association, working to keep the water clean here, and to bring awareness to America's lakes.

18:28Challenging herself to swim the entire length of Skinny Atlas Lake, 16 miles.

18:33For more than a year, training for the longest swim of her life.

18:36Her parents right there with her as she practiced in the morning.

18:39Her dad, Bob, following Rachel in the boat.

18:42Her mom, Terry, part of the team of kayakers guiding her.

18:47Love you!

18:48Just this week, Rachel was ready.

18:50Go, Rachel!

18:52At sunrise, she was off.

18:55Go, Rachel!

18:56Go, Rachel!

18:57Along the way, so many from the community cheering her on.