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Trevor Ault reports on the Southwest flight that violently dropped hundreds of feet, throwing passengers from their seats, as the pilot tried to avoid a midair collision with a military plane; Pierre Thomas has the latest on the deadly shooting at a University of New Mexico student housing complex after authorities in Albuquerque arrested a suspect; Martha Raddatz reports on the growing hunger crisis in Gaza as ABC News cameras go inside a pediatric ward in the war-torn region, where children are on the brink of starvation; and more on tonight’s broadcast of World News Tonight with David Muir.
Trevor Ault reports on the Southwest flight that violently dropped hundreds of feet, throwing passengers from their seats, as the pilot tried to avoid a midair collision with a military plane; Pierre Thomas has the latest on the deadly shooting at a University of New Mexico student housing complex after authorities in Albuquerque arrested a suspect; Martha Raddatz reports on the growing hunger crisis in Gaza as ABC News cameras go inside a pediatric ward in the war-torn region, where children are on the brink of starvation; and more on tonight’s broadcast of World News Tonight with David Muir.
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00:00Breaking news as we come on the air, the midair scare minutes after takeoff, a Southwest pilot
00:06taking evasive action to avoid colliding with a military jet and severe storms in the Northeast
00:11and heat alerts for more than 130 million from Texas to Maine. First terrifying moments on board
00:17a Southwest flight from Los Angeles to Las Vegas, the pilot taking sudden action, dropping nearly
00:22500 feet to avert a midair crash with a military jet, passengers screaming, one saying they were
00:28shaken to the core. Dangerous storms rolling over New York City and the Northeast. Thunderstorms,
00:33flash flood alerts and winds gusting up to 70 miles per hour. Heat alerts from Washington,
00:38D.C. to Philadelphia to New York. Temperatures feeling like triple digits. The Washington
00:43monument closing early today. Emergency rooms bracing for a surge of patients overcome by
00:49the heat. Tonight, President Trump refusing to rule out a pardon for Jeffrey Epstein's
00:53former companion, Ghislaine Maxwell, now serving 20 years in prison for sex trafficking.
00:59Sources tell ABC News Maxwell received limited immunity for her two days of meetings with the
01:03Justice Department. Her attorney says she was asked about 100 different people and didn't
01:08hold anything back. The deadly shooting at the University of New Mexico. One person killed
01:14another wounded inside a student housing complex. Police launching an urgent manhunt for the
01:18suspected gunman. Overseas tonight, the U.S. military launching a dangerous ground raid inside Syria.
01:25American forces targeting an alleged ISIS leader. Haunting images inside Gaza. Hungry children making
01:31desperate pleas for food. ABC News cameras inside a pediatric ward. Children weak, thin and frail.
01:38The Hamas-run health ministry says dozens have died from starvation. Tragedy at Hershey Park. A
01:44nine-year-old girl pulled from the wave pool. Lifeguards trying to revive her. A bizarre moment in Florida
01:50why Chuck E. Cheese's mascot was arrested and handcuffed in front of children. ESPN reports the NFL is finding
01:57more than 100 players from roughly half the teams in the league. The players accused of selling Super Bowl
02:02tickets above face value. And America's strong tonight.
02:09The five-year-old child prodigy taking the stage at Carnegie Hall. How he got there.
02:17From ABC News World Headquarters in New York, this is World News Tonight with David Muir.
02:26Good evening, everyone. Thanks so much for joining us on this busy Friday night. I'm Lindsay Davis in for
02:31David. We begin with that breaking news. An alarming midair scare. Just after takeoff,
02:36a Southwest pilot taking evasive action to avoid colliding with a military jet. The Southwest flight
02:42from Los Angeles to Las Vegas dropping nearly 500 feet. Passengers screaming. Two flight attendants
02:49were injured. The other aircraft, a Hawker Hunter, a former British military jet. What we're now learning
02:54about that plane tonight, passengers are speaking out. One saying it felt like they were in a free fall.
03:00Another, that they were shaken to the core. ABC's Trevor Walt leads us off with the details just
03:05coming in. Tonight, a Southwest flight violently dropping hundreds of feet as the pilot tried to
03:11avoid a midair collision with a former British fighter jet. It was chaos. They were screaming.
03:17There was on, just people were frightened. It happened about six minutes after takeoff at Burbank
03:23Airport. The plane bound for Las Vegas, suddenly dropping 500 feet when the Southwest pilot got a
03:29warning from the collision avoidance system. It was about, I would say an eight second, eight to 10
03:34second drop of free fall. I've never experienced that. It's terrifying. It shakes you to the core.
03:43As the plane leveled off, passengers say the pilot told them what had happened.
03:47Two to three minutes later, the pilots got on the intercom and told everybody that they had
03:55maneuvered the aircraft to avoid a midair collision. Passengers say the fastened seatbelt sign was still
04:01on, but drink service was just starting. All that I could physically see was that the flight attendant
04:08was injured. It looked to me like that she had a head injury because of she had the ice pack on her
04:13head for the remainder of the flight. It comes just days after a Delta regional jet landing at
04:19Minot International in North Dakota made a hard turn after spotting a B-52 bomber. The Air Force says
04:26that military jets seen here flying over a state fair had its location turned off and was never told
04:32about an inbound commercial jet by Minot's air traffic control. And tonight, passengers on board
04:38that Burbank flight say they're stunned. It felt out of your control. It felt very scary. You just
04:45didn't know what it was. Lindsay, it's not clear why that 66-year-old retired fighter jet was in the
04:51area or how close it was to that Southwest plane. But two flight attendants were injured and the FAA
04:57is now investigating. Lindsay. Terrifying moments, Trevor. Thank you. Now to the dangerous storms
05:02and life-threatening heat, more than 130 million Americans on alert from Texas to Maine. The heat
05:07index feels like temperatures more than 100 degrees across the Northeast. D.C. hitting 106 degrees
05:14today. Philly 108. 101 in both New York and Boston. Cities sweltering. New York declaring an air quality
05:21alert. Emergency rooms ramping up. Severe storms rolling through with heavy rain, flooding, and strong
05:27winds. Floodwaters tearing through burn scar areas, destroying at least one home in New
05:32Mexico. Brittany Bell has the forecast in a moment. But first, ABC's Morgan Norwood reports
05:36here in New York. Tonight, powerful storms targeting the Northeast as millions swelter in
05:43searing heat from Philadelphia. The extreme heat alerts are in place until 9 o'clock tonight. That's
05:48for heat indices between 105 to 110 degrees. To Washington, D.C. Our Perry Russom on the mall,
05:54where it felt like 106 today. Here at the Washington Monument, the extreme heat forcing
05:59the National Park Service to shut things down early today. They do not want people waiting in line in
06:04this heat with fears they could pass out. New York City closing in on a record real temperature of 97
06:10degrees. Well over triple digits when you factor in stifling humidity, dangerous, and potentially
06:16deadly. When it starts to progress into heat stroke, that's when patients typically come in and they're
06:22very confused. Emergency rooms in New York City bracing for a surge in patients with heat stroke.
06:28We're seeing a lot of younger patients just because they're out and about in the city,
06:31maybe not drinking as much as they should be, not hydrating enough that are coming in just from
06:35passing out in the subway, on the streets. The extreme heat fueling floods across the Midwest
06:41from Chicago to Kansas City. And in the West, homes washed away for the third time this month
06:48as monsoon rains slam burn-scarred ruidoso New Mexico. And Lindsay, that extreme heat combined
06:55with pollution is worsening air quality, triggering alerts for New York City and parts of the upper
07:00Midwest. Bottom line, those same groups at risk for heat illness, where they're now being told to
07:04limit time outdoors due to the haze. Lindsay? And drink lots of water. Morgan, thank you. Meteorologist
07:11Brittany Bell from our New York station WABC joins us now. Hi, Brittany. Can the Northeast expect some
07:17relief from the heat anytime soon? They can, but unfortunately, Lindsay, the severe weather is
07:23the price to pay for this relief from the heat. So right now, let's get right to it. There's a
07:28severe thunderstorm watch that includes most of the Northeast lasting until 9 p.m., including New York
07:33City. Already multiple reports of wind damage, especially across New Jersey and the Hudson Valley.
07:38Now the heat is building across the Southeast this weekend through early next week. Heat indices
07:43ranging from 103 to 113 degrees. Raleigh 108 on Saturday afternoon. Even into next week,
07:49look at Memphis and Jackson on Tuesday. Heat of next numbers approaching 111 degrees,
07:55even in Charlotte on Monday, 109. The flashback threat also continues from Wichita all the way to
07:59Chicago today. Lindsay? Brittany, thank you. Next tonight, the Jeffrey Epstein case. President Trump
08:05refusing to rule out pardoning Ghislaine Maxwell, who's currently serving 20 years behind bars for sex
08:10trafficking. The president on his way to Scotland said, I'm allowed to do it, but it's something I
08:15have not thought about. Meanwhile, sources tell ABC News Maxwell received limited immunity for her
08:20two days of meetings. And what we're learning tonight about what she was asked. Here's ABC's
08:25chief investigative correspondent, Erin Katursky. Tonight, President Trump's refusing to rule out a
08:31pardon for Jeffrey Epstein's former companion, Ghislaine Maxwell, who's now serving 20 years in prison
08:36for sex trafficking teenage girls. Would you consider a pardon or a commutation for Ghislaine
08:41Maxwell? It's something I haven't thought about. It's really something I'm allowed to do it, but
08:47it's something I have not thought about. As the president spoke, Maxwell was meeting for the second
08:52day in a row with Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, who until recently was Trump's personal
08:56lawyer. Trump once socialized with Maxwell and Epstein. When Epstein was arrested in 2019,
09:02Trump said they'd had a falling out and hadn't spoken in 15 years. Maxwell has long faced questions.
09:09Ask you about the all the allegations that have come out, Ghislaine. Happy New Year. When she was
09:13arrested, the president said he wished her well. Sources tell ABC News it was Maxwell who requested
09:18this week's meetings with the Deputy Attorney General and that she was granted a limited form
09:22of immunity so she could answer questions without fear it could later be used against her. She was asked
09:28maybe about a hundred different people. She answered questions about everybody and she
09:34didn't hold anything back. In May, Attorney General Pam Bondi reportedly told the president his name
09:39appeared in the Justice Department's Epstein files multiple times. Trump denies that briefing ever
09:44happened. No, I was never, never. Being named is not evidence of wrongdoing. Bondi has refused to
09:53release the files despite previously promising to do so. Trump, whose top supporters, including FBI
10:00Director Cash Patel, spread conspiracy theories about Epstein, is eager to change the subject. I'm not
10:05focused on conspiracy theories. But the story hasn't gone away, which sent the Justice Department's
10:11number two official to Florida to meet the woman who helped Epstein recruit, groom and abuse girls over
10:16the course of a decade. Annie Farmer was one of the women who testified against Maxwell. She didn't just
10:21procure girls and women for Epstein, but she herself participated in their abuse.
10:26What Maxwell wants now to get out of prison. Of course, everybody knows that Ms. Maxwell would
10:32would welcome any relief. She's been in very difficult conditions for five years. And so she
10:40would welcome any relief. Her lawyer tells me she did not ask for a pardon today and Deputy Attorney
10:45General Todd Blanch did not offer one. But late today, the president making clear it's not off the table.
10:51A lot of people have asked about pardon. This is just not a time to be talking about pardons. Todd will
10:57come back with whatever he's got. The Deputy Attorney General said, Lindsay, he would share what he learned
11:03from Ghislaine Maxwell at the appropriate time. And we should note, Lindsay, meetings like this with law
11:08enforcement officials are often recorded. Lindsay? Aaron, thank you. Now to that urgent manhunt. After
11:15a deadly shooting at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque, one person killed, another injured.
11:20The shooting took place early this morning in student housing. And what's happened late today?
11:26Here's ABC's Chief Justice Correspondent, Pierre Thomas. Tonight, police announcing a suspect has been
11:31captured after a deadly shooting at this student housing complex at the University of New Mexico.
11:37Rescue 3.
11:38Respond to a 27 Bravo 5G gunshot.
11:42Those gunshot calls coming early this morning. Multiple law enforcement agencies rushing to the
11:47scene, finding one person killed, another wounded. Then all of a sudden we just heard like shots,
11:51like crazy shots. And after that, we like peeked over our like our blinds and we just see some
11:58kids running, like dashing down the other side. The university issuing a shelter in place and closing
12:04school grounds. The new semester just weeks away. Some incoming students already on campus. Members
12:11of the football team say they were staying in the dorm where the shooting happened.
12:14I was getting back into my dorm and they weren't letting me in because they had said that there
12:20was an open crime scene. The family had come and they were pretty emotional. They were crying.
12:25The good news tonight, that wounded victims sustained non-life-threatening injuries and is expected to
12:31recover. Lindsay?
12:33Glad to hear that, Pierre. Thank you. Overseas tonight, the growing hunger crisis in Gaza. Hamas
12:39health officials say just in the last 24 hours, nine people have died of starvation, 122 since the war
12:45began. The majority of them children. As the latest round of ceasefire and hostage release talks have
12:50failed. Tonight, we're learning about a dangerous U.S. military raid in Syria targeting a high-ranking
12:56ISIS leader. Here's ABC's chief global affairs correspondent, Martha Raddatz.
13:01Desperate cries for help from the children of Gaza, holding out empty pots, hoping for a ladle of soup.
13:08Anguish in their faces. But few will leave this line with any food. There's simply not enough to go
13:15around. Look at us with mercy and bring us food, this woman says. Anything for us to eat. Let the
13:23crossings open, she pleads. ABC News cameras inside this pediatric ward, and what we see is haunting.
13:32Hollow-eyed children on the brink of starvation. The faintest cries of hunger,
13:38from the babies. Nine people died due to starvation just in the last 24 hours,
13:46according to the Hamas-run health ministry. American doctor Travis Moline describing the
13:52horrors he's seeing inside Gaza's Nasser hospital. You can see the desperation. It's palpable
13:59that people need food. You know, no one's asking for anything else right now. Israel blaming Hamas,
14:07saying they steal food. But the IDF has limited ground deliveries, although today announcing plans
14:13to coordinate new airdrops of aid. President Trump was asked about the crisis in Gaza today. He said
14:21Israel should, quote, finish the job and get rid of Hamas after the U.S. pulled out of hostage ceasefire
14:27talks. Lindsay? And Martha, what more are you learning about that rare and risky U.S. military
14:32ground raid inside Syria targeting an alleged ISIS terror leader? Lindsay, it's highly unusual for U.S.
14:38forces to carry out a ground raid inside Syria and much riskier. Counterterrorism strikes are normally
14:45done by drones. But this nighttime raid in the city of al-Bab involved U.S. forces flown into
14:51northwestern Syria, an area where Islamic extremist groups are known to operate. The Pentagon saying
14:57that the raid resulted in the death of a senior ISIS leader and two of his adult sons, who they say
15:03were affiliated with ISIS. Lindsay? Martha Raditz for us. Thanks so much, Martha. Back here now,
15:09disgraced former representative George Santos is spending his first night in prison after pleading
15:13guilty to wire fraud and identity theft. The Long Island Republican reporting to a prison in southern
15:19New Jersey. He's sentenced to seven years. Santos was expelled from Congress after fabricating much
15:24of his life story and admitting he deceived donors to fund his campaign. When we come back, tragedy at
15:30Hershey Park. A nine-year-old girl pulled from the wave pool. Lifeguards trying to revive her. And why
15:36police arrested Chuck E. Cheese's mascot, handcuffing him in front of children.
15:40Tonight, authorities are investigating the tragic death of a nine-year-old at Hershey Park,
15:47Pennsylvania. Witnesses say the child was pulled from the wave pool in the water park section of
15:51the complex. Lifeguards were unable to revive her. Park officials say the wave pool remained closed
15:57today out of respect for the family. The NFL is reportedly finding more than 100 players from
16:02roughly half the teams in the league for selling Super Bowl tickets above face value. ESPN reports players
16:08are facing fines and possible suspensions for violating league policy. They could also lose
16:12their allotted tickets for the next two Super Bowls. Names have not been released. When we come back,
16:18why police arrested the Chuck E. Cheese mascot in front of customers and the five-year-old child
16:23prodigy taking the stage at Carnegie Hall. To the index now, the Chuck E. Cheese mascot arrested on
16:31charges of credit card fraud in Tallahassee, Florida. Jermell Jones, an employee dressed as
16:36the mascot, was handcuffed in front of customers. He's accused of using stolen credit cards. The
16:41company says it's aware of the incident and that they have taken, quote, appropriate action concerning
16:45the employee. When we come back, the remarkable five-year-old piano player on one of the world's
16:51biggest stages. ABC World News Tonight with David Muir, sponsored by Progressive.
17:00Finally tonight, with his feet swinging from the piano bench and fingers barely stretching an octave,
17:06the five-year-old already performing at the famed Carnegie Hall.
17:10Carnegie Hall in New York City, the dream stage for musicians around the world.
17:16But for Alec von Cachadorian, that dream is already a reality at just five years old.
17:27The California resident is among the youngest performers to grace the stage at Carnegie Hall
17:32ever. Alec's been playing the piano since he was a baby, striking the keys even when he could
17:40barely reach them. His talent was evident, a piano prodigy.
17:51He would walk over to the piano when he first started walking,
17:56punching a few notes, and you could just see this huge grin on his face.
18:01And take a look at this. Alec has perfect pitch, the ability to identify musical notes just by
18:09hearing them. A talent, it's estimated, is shared by only one in 10,000 people.
18:21And a few weeks later, Alec in New York City, invited to perform at Carnegie Hall's
18:28Weill Recital Hall, one of several young musicians performing at the New York Classical Debut Awards
18:34Gala Concert. And there it is, Carnegie Hall.
18:37Alec in his tiny white tuxedo, fixing his bow tie.
18:42And then, performance time.
18:45Alec coming out to cheers, a bow before the crowd,
18:48and then, just listen.
18:52I like you.
18:53From his tiny five-year-old fingers, majestic music. Alec conquering one of the world's most
18:59iconic stages, without a trace of fear.
19:03I wasn't nervous. It's my dream come true.
19:06Yes.
19:13Little body, big confidence. Thanks so much for watching. I'm Lindsay Davis. For David and all of us here,
19:18have a great night.
19:22David Muir, the most-watched newscast in America.
19:27And now, ABC's World News Tonight has won the Emmy for Best Live News Program for the third year in a row.
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