Transcription
Tonight, the breaking news as we come on. The government shutdown now in full effect. The impacts already. And in New York City, part of an apartment building comes crashing down. And you'll see it.
First, millions of government workers from some 2 million US troops to the TSA agents keeping airports and travelers safe. Now they face missing their paychecks. Tonight, sources telling ABC News the White House has told House Republicans with this government shutdown, mass layoffs are now imminent, possibly as early as tomorrow. And the war of words tonight between the White House and congressional Democrats intensifying.
In New York City tonight, the chilling images. The moment part of a high-rise apartment building collapses. The search teams with canines and what led to this moment. Homes into the ocean with Hurricane Alda off the east coast. The damage tonight and what authorities are now warning of up and down the coast. The horrific images coming in tonight. The urgent search for survivors after a deadly earthquake. Buildings crumbling to their foundations. Models on the runway when the entire building starts to shake. The anguish tonight as they look for the missing.
Back in the US, an arrest warrant tonight for a well-known actor wanted in an animal cruelty investigation. Neighbors say his dogs have repeatedly been a problem. And now, police tonight say his large dogs have killed a neighbor's dog. The plane making an emergency landing on the interstate right during rush hour.
Tonight, here remembering Jane Goodall. The wild. It was groundbreaking. And what she taught us all about animals and the world. And tonight, her unifying message in her own words. And breaking the bank, the history-making moment on Wheel of Fortune, the category living things. Would you have guessed it right?
From ABC News World Headquarters in New York, this is World News Tonight with David Muir. Good evening.
We begin tonight with this paralyzing government shutdown. The impact felt already. And tonight, millions of government workers from some 2 million US troops to the TSA security agents at checkpoints keeping flights safe. All now facing the real possibility of missing their paychecks. At the White House today, Vice President JD Vance in the briefing room blaming Democrats and warning mass layoffs could be coming. Sources telling ABC News tonight that those layoffs could come as early as tomorrow.
Tonight, Democrats demanding Medicaid cuts be restored and that health care subsidies be extended to keep millions of Americans from seeing their premiums go up. And tonight, no signs of this ending anytime soon. Rachel Scott leading us off. She's up on the hill again tonight.
Tonight, with the federal government now officially shut down and millions of workers facing the prospect of missed paychecks, the White House now saying mass layoffs are imminent. "How long do you think this will go, Mr. Speaker?" "I hope it's short." Sources say House Republicans were told President Trump will start firing federal workers as soon as tomorrow. ABC's Mary Bruce asking Vice President JD Vance why that's necessary. "In every previous shutdown, workers have been furled, not laid off. So why does the president want to fire some workers and not just furlow them? Why is this shutdown any different?" "Well, first of all, we haven't made any final decisions about what we're going to do with certain workers. What we're saying is that we might have to take extraordinary steps, especially the longer this goes on."
Democrats refuse to fund the government unless Republicans agree to reverse Medicaid cuts and extend expiring Obamacare subsidies so healthcare premiums don't rise for millions. "It is not radical to say we want to prevent the average American family from getting these huge increases." The White House says Democrats are holding the country hostage. "What you don't do is say unless you do exactly what we want to do as congressional Democrats, we're taken hostage."
Tonight, millions of federal employees considered essential forced to work without pay, including TSA agents and some two million military troops. 750,000 others are furoughed. "Oh my god, it's terrible." Willie Joe Price has worked at the cafeteria in the Library of Congress for 44 years. "Electric bills and and the gas bill, all of these things went up. So, I'm already juggling paycheck to paycheck." "You may not be able to make rent, right?"
Tonight, the White House turning up the pressure, targeting projects dear to Democrats, freezing $18 billion in infrastructure funding for New York City, home of both Democratic leaders Chuck Schumer and Hakee Jeff, and blocking $8 billion for energy projects in 16 states that voted Democrat in the last presidential election. So, let's bring in Rachel Scott tonight. She's live up on the hill again for us. And Rachel, I know you're working your sources tonight. Any signs this evening how long this could last?
"Well, David, the shutdown will last for at least one more day. The Senate will not be back in session until Friday. Meanwhile, Senate Republicans really trying to turn up the heat on Senate Democrats, especially those in tough political races ahead. But tonight, the vast majority of Democrats are holding firm. David, one more day because there's no vote set for tomorrow. But this could go on well beyond that. Way beyond that, David, days, if not weeks." Rachel Scott leading us off here. Rachel, thank you.
Here in New York City tonight. Chilling images as part of a high-rise apartment building came crashing down. Here's a look tonight. Now, investigators say a gas explosion brought part of that building down. Witnesses horrified at what they were seeing. The search teams on the scene with canines making sure no one was trapped. ABC's Matt Rivers is here in New York tonight.
Tonight, you're watching the moment this 20-story building in New York City partially collapses. Debris blanketing this M Haven neighborhood in the Bronx just after 8:00 a.m. when many were leaving for work and school. "Explosion inside the building. The building is falling apart. The entire corner of this high-rise gone." Officials believe a gas explosion from the boiler caused the chimney to come crumbling down. You can see that that shaft here, you can see where the bricks once were. That's completely disintegrated and all that debris has collapsed down into the courtyard. The explosion happened in the morning right as people were starting to go to work and to school. You can see some of the debris falling into this playground behind me. It is nothing short of miraculous that no one was injured. Look at the side of the building. Nearby residents stunned. We spoke to Ada who had just dropped her kids off at school. She said she was terrified she'd see people falling from a hole in the building. "It sound like a bomb. like basically like a bomb explosion and it was so loud. Even if you're all the way down to 149, you can hear it and it's so scary." Crews sifting through the debris with canines. Thankfully, no one was trapped in the rubble. And David, as the weather gets colder here in New York, many buildings just now turning on their boilers. The mayor saying this explosion is a reminder to check those boilers that might have sat idle for months. David, wow, this could have been much worse. Matt Rivers tonight. Matt, we appreciate it.
We turn this evening to the hurricane turning right off the east coast. The power of Hurricane Melda tonight. Homes along parts of the coast crashing into the ocean. This home right here in North Carolina's Outer Banks. In fact, several homes were already vulnerable because of beach erosion. And tonight, what authorities are now most concerned about up and down the coast with Elda still churning. Here's Stephanie Ramos.
With Hurricane Alda turning out in the Atlantic tonight, at least half a dozen houses collapsing in the surf along North Carolina's Outer Banks. Roofs floating away. Homes reduced to debris in the large swells. "There was one person just bought a house here. People like that is what I feel sorry for." Hurricane Alda and the remnants of Hurricane Ombberto now threatening the east coast, sending dangerous rip currents and waves up to 12 feet as far north as Situit, Massachusetts. Alda strengthening to a category 2 as it closes in on Bermuda. Wind gusts near 100 miles per hour. And David, our weather team telling us Alda will move through Bermuda tonight with flash flooding and storm surge. Here along the east coast, we could still see high surf or flooding over the next few days from Florida all the way up to Maine. David Stephanie Ramos with us. Stephanie, thank you.
Overseas tonight, the horrific images coming in. The desperate search for survivors now. There's been a deadly earthquake in the Philippines. Dozens killed in this 6.9 earthquake as entire buildings came crashing down. And tonight, it's feared many are still trapped under the rubble. Here's ABC's Brit.
"Earthquake. Earthquake." This is the moment a powerful earthquake rocked the Philippines, leaving dozens dead. You can hear the screams of terrified residents in Sibu province. Models walking the runway during this beauty pageant scrambling to get to safety. The bell tower on this centuries-old church toppling to the ground. The 6.9 magnitude earthquake striking just before 10 there Tuesday night, killing at least 69 people. And in Indonesia tonight, crews racing to rescue dozens of students after their school collapsed during a prayer service Monday. Officials still hearing screams from the rubble. Today, digging a tunnel to rescue five survivors. Parents gathering desperate for word. "I got here as soon as I heard the news." This father says that school had been undergoing construction. At least six were killed, dozens more injured.
David, back to that deadly quake in the Philippines that violently shook buildings as it struck. Rescue efforts are now being hampered by hundreds of aftershocks. And this is less than a week after the country was hit by back-to-back typhoons with another one on the way. David, yeah, the typhoons and now this earthquake. Brit Clement with us here. Brit, thank you.
Meanwhile, back here in the US tonight, an arrest warrant issued for a well-known actor now wanted in an animal cruelty investigation. Authorities say two of his large dogs killed a neighbor's dog in an Atlanta neighborhood. And neighbors say his dogs have repeatedly been an issue. Steve Osansami now from Atlanta.
Police in Fulton County, Georgia tell ABC News tonight that singer and actor Tyrese Gibson will need to head back to Atlanta and appear in person to face arrest on a misdemeanor animal cruelty charge. "Look at my baby. Look at my baby." After they say two of his dogs ran from his Atlanta mansion and killed a dog at a neighbor's home two weeks ago. Gibson is a movie star best known for his roles in the Fast and Furious action film. But in this wealthy Atlanta neighborhood, police say they know him more for repeatedly losing track of his big dogs. "We're afraid to go out of our house. They're 150 lb dogs with a bite of a lion, and they're very dangerous dogs." Harrison Parker has an electric fence and was letting his 5-year-old dog out before bed when it was killed. He shared this security camera video with police. "There he was, just this little pile of fur just lying motionless um on my driveway and um he was dead." Gibson was out of town at the time and in a statement says his dogs have never been trained to harm and he says he will continue to face this tragedy with honesty, responsibility, and compassion. Authorities say they hear all of that, but say they've spent more than a week trying to get this actor to surrender his dogs. They say he first agreed to do so, then changed his mind, and that's when they issued the arrest warrant. He is now telling them that he has put the dogs in new homes. David Steinsami in Atlanta. Thanks, Steve.
Tonight, the Supreme Court is allowing Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook to keep her job, at least for now. That's pending the outcome of oral arguments in January on President Trump's bid to fire her over unproven allegations of mortgage fraud. The decision marks a sharp break with how the justices have handled other cases involving the president's removal power at independent federal agencies.
To the economy tonight with the government shutdown, the Department of Labor's job numbers won't be released this Friday, but the payroll processing giant ADP issued its own report today reporting that the US lost 32,000 private sector jobs in September. Despite those concerning numbers tonight, the stock market closing up, the Dow closing at 46,441. The S&P closing for the first time above 6,700. That's a record high.
We do have a passing to note tonight. We learned late today that Jane Goodall, the groundbreaking researcher and conservationist, has died. Her work changed the way we see animals and revealed to us what they're capable of. Tonight here, her unifying message for us all in her own words.
Jane Goodall was a pioneer for decades. Her scientific discoveries while documenting chimpanzees in the wild was groundbreaking. Her more than 60 years of field research teaching us all about the bond between man and nature. She first traveled to East Africa to study chimpanzees in 1960 at just 26 years old. She was a secretary for a renowned paleontologist, Lewis Leaky, and he thought she'd be up for the grueling job. Because she was young and because she was a woman, the local government there insisted that she bring someone with her. And so her mother volunteered. It was a crazy idea. Most people thought this young girl, no degree, out in a potentially dangerous situation. She'd bravely leave camp at dawn and search for the chimpanzees, returning night after night without finding them. But she was determined. "I refused to give up." One day it happened. "I could see them on the other side of the valley watching me. Then they'd come closer and perch in the trees looking down at me. Finally, they came right down onto the ground." It did not go well at first. "My first encounters with the chimpanzees were disastrous. They ran away. They take took one look and would would flee."
She would eventually gain their trust, documenting for the first time behaviors that stunned the scientific community and the world, charting their individual personalities and emotions, witnessing the chimpanzees embracing, hugging, the bond between mother and child. "A wild chimpanzee mother came up to me and allowed her infant to reach out with that wondering expression in his eyes to touch me. And that's another moment I'll never forget." There was an older male chimpanzee who she captured stripping the leaves off a twig and using it as a tool to catch termites. It was previously believed that only humans had those skills, making and using tools. "At that time, we were just defined as, you know, the only tool making creature on the planet. Man, the toolmaker."
Jane Goodall's work was documented by National Geographic for years. In 1977, she established the Jane Goodall Institute, one of the world's largest global nonprofits for conservation research. She would write 32 books, 15 of them for children, all of them with a unifying message. "Unconditional love, and that's what we can get from animals if we treat them as as friends rather than things." She would travel more than 300 days a year. And it was announced late today that at the age of 91, Jane Goodall died of natural causes while here in the US on a speaking tour. Tonight, Jane Goodall in her own words on her life's work.
"I think it's been absolutely amazing. I mean, really, just just the richness of it. It's fulfilling and there's a long way to go and a lot more that I want to do but I've been lucky very and we've been lucky because of it." Jane Goodall's work was profound. What an impact.
When we come back here tonight, the first American pope, Pope Leo, weighing in on a major issue this evening. Also ahead, a three-year-old has found a live grenade in the front yard from World War II. Also ahead, take a look. The plane making an emergency landing on the interstate right during rush hour and the history made on Wheel of Fortune and the contestant winning the most ever and what she revealed today after all of this. What she forgot in the middle of getting that clue right in a moment here.
Tonight, a small plane making an emergency landing on a busy San Diego highway during rush hour. The single-engine Cessna touching down near the center median of Interstate 15. The plane having engine problems about an hour after taking off from a local airport. Remarkably, no one was injured and no cars were hit.
The first American pope, Pope Leo, of course, making his first major address on climate change, embracing his predecessor's view, Pope Francis, on environmental advocacy. Leo presiding over the opening ceremony of a climate conference outside Rome. Among those in the audience, former California governor and actor Arnold Schwarzenegger. Leo also appearing to criticize American politicians this week for the treatment of immigrants as "inhuman."
When we come back on the broadcast, a three-year-old finding a live grenade here in the US dating back to World War II. Also tonight, the new name for Maxwell House coffee. What will you think about it?
To the index of other news tonight, a three-year-old finding a live grenade dating back to World War II in his family's front yard in Washington State. The toddler taking the bomb inside the family home. The bomb squad was then notified and safely removed the device. No word yet on how it ended up in the family's yard or for how long it was there.
Tonight, Walmart now says it is eliminating synthetic food dyes from its store brands. The retail giant is also planning to remove 30 other ingredients such as artificial sweeteners and preservatives by 2027. Several major companies have announced similar plans in recent months.
Tonight, Maxwell House Coffee is changing its name for the first time in more than 130 years. The coffee giant temporarily rebranding as Maxwell Apartment. The company says it's making the switch to reflect the number of Americans now renting instead of buying homes. And they say to remind consumers that the coffee is affordable.
When we come back here tonight, breaking the bank, the history-making moment on Wheel of Fortune, the category, living things. Would you have guessed it right?
Finally tonight here, the history-making moment on Wheel of Fortune. And what the contestant revealed today, what she forgot right in the middle of getting that clue right. Tonight, the history made on Wheel of Fortune. Now, let's see what you got. Christina Durbanick from Stamford, Connecticut with Ryan and Vanna. Spin after spin, winning trips to Montana to Tokyo. "Oh my god." And then landing on the million-dollar wedge, solving the puzzle without going bankrupt. And it all came down to this moment. "Christina, give the wheel a good spin. And good luck." Here we go. Christina choosing the category living things. "M C F and the vow A." Then it was time to solve the puzzle. "You'll have 10 seconds to try and solve it." Christina's staring at me. "Good luck." "Pack of coyotes." She did it. Ryan opening the envelope, revealing the prize. "$1 million." "You won a million?" Christina is now the biggest winner in Wheel of Fortune's 50-year history. Hugging Ryan, running to hug Vanna, too. And on GMA this morning reliving that moment. "I mean, I was just in such complete shock. I as soon as the puzzle um letters came up, I was like, I know this. It just clicked." She says she knew the answer right away. And for a second there, she actually forgot about the prize. "For a second, I forgot about the million-dollar wedge and then he opened it and I was like, 'Oh my goodness. You won a million dollars?'" That was incredible moment. She says she's going to pay off her student loans and she'll have plenty left over. And Ryan almost fell over there, too. Congratulations. Good night.
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.