paratroopers into the war. >> that's it for up. tonight, breaking news. the new interview with president trump. defending his son, don junior saying, many people would have taken that meeting with the russian lawyer. and don junior saying in retrospect he probably would have done things differently, and he could not rule out meeting with other people from russia. also tonight, the new and chilling video emerging. a brutal attack, an american college grad on vacation overseas, killed in an angry mob. what happened in the moments before. the images coming in right now. the fbi and authorities digging and putting up tents, searching for four young men. a former baseball player, two of them construction workers, and tonight, person of interest now under arrest. severe storms at rush hour after tornadoes already reported and this lightning at chicago's o'hare airport. it's all moving east at this hour. and new concern tonight in the antarctic.

an iceberg the size of delaware breaks off. good evening, and it's great to have you with us here on a wednesday night, and we begin tonight with president trump defending his son. saying, many would have done the same thing and saying yes to a meeting where he expected to get dirt on hillary clinton with help from the russian government. tonight, don junior acknowledging he likely would have done things differently and he is also asked, were there other meetings with the russians? abc's chief white house correspondent, jonathan karl, leading us off. >> reporter: tonight, president trump is coming to the defense of his son. he says he doesn't blame don junior for agreeing to meet with a woman described as a "russian government attorney" who claimed to have dirt on hillary clinton. in an interview with reuters, the president says "i think many people would have held that meeting." in an e-mail exchange with an acquaintance, don junior was told the purpose of the meeting was "to provide the trump campaign with some official

documents and information that would incriminate hillary." the information described as high level and sensitive and "part of russia and its government's support for mr. trump." don junior's response? "if it's what you say, i love it." last night, don junior went on fox news to explain -- >> in retrospect, i probably would have done things a little differently. for me this was opposition research, they had something, you know maybe concrete evidence to all the stories i'd been hearing about that were probably unreported for, you know, years, not just during the campaign. so, i just wanted to hear it out. >> did you ever meet with any other person from russia that you know? >> i don't even know. i have probably met with other people from russia. >> i mean during the campaign. >> certainly not in the context of a formalized meeting or anything like that, because why would i? >> reporter: when asked in march by "the new york times" whether he'd had campaign-related meetings with russians, donald trump jr. said, "none that were set up and certainly none that i was representing the campaign in any way, shape or form."

and just a month after the meeting with the russian lawyer, don junior angrily dismissed suggestions the trump campaign had anything to do with russia. >> it's disgusting it's so phony. >> reporter: also entangled in all of this, donald trump's son-in-law and top adviser jared kushner, who attended the meeting with the russian lawyer after don junior forwarded him that e-mail chain with the subject line, "russia - clinton - private and confidential." >> what do you say to democrats who say that jared kushner's security clearance should be revoked? >> once again, we don't discuss security clearances, but i think democrats are trying to play political games and i think it's ridiculous. >> reporter: is there any concern over the top adviser to the president -- >> did nothing wrong? no. >> reporter: the president himself has been out of the public view for days. aides describe him as angry and frustrated, but today these images emerged, the president meeting with faith leaders in the oval office laying their hands on him in prayer. >> jon karl with us live from the white house.

and jon, in this new interview with reuters tonight, the president for the first time describing how he questioned vladimir putin about meddling in the u.s. presidential election? >> reporter: the president tells reuters he spent the first 20 to 25 minutes in that meeting with putin in germany, talking about russian interference in the election. this is how the president described it. i said, did you do it? he said, no, i did not. absolutely not. i then asked him a second time in a totally different way. he said, absolutely not. but david, there is no indication in this interview whether or not the president accepted putin's denials. >> jon karl leading us off tonight. jon, thank you. after that russian lawyer who met with don junior said she was not connected to the russian government and she had no interest in politics, there are growing questions tonight after images emerged of her in the front row on capitol hill. if she is not interested in politics, why was she there? our chief foreign correspondent, terry moran, in moscow, going to find her again.

>> reporter: she is at the center of a global media fire storm. >> let me ask you a question. >> reporter: but natalia veselnitskaya says she is not even interested in politics. still in moscow, veselnitskaya is known as a powerhouse politically connected lawyer, and she is no stranger to washington. there she is in the front row of a 2016 congressional hearing on russian sanctions, just five days after she got that meeting at trump tower with top campaign officials, including donald trump jr. he was told she was a russian government attorney bringing damaging information about hillary clinton. so we asked her about it today. is that true or false? [ speaking a foreign language ] listen, she says, i have never had compromising materials on hillary clinton. her only agenda she says, relieving some u.s. sanctions. she and trump junior agree on one thing. that meeting was a bust. he wanted to hear from me, that which i did not tell him, she says.

he got disappointed from not hearing it. today, veselnitskaya insisted she was not a kremlin emissary. were you carrying any message or any information from anyone in the russian government to the trump campaign? >> no. no. >> reporter: you seriously think that if the russian confederation could do something like that, they would do it through me? she says, come on, it's just funny. >> and terry moran joins from moscow, and i know you reported the lawyer denies she has a connection to the russian government, saying, quote, i'm not interested in politics, but how does she explain images like this one sitting in the front row at the senate hearing in washington, d.c.? >> reporter: it's a striking image, and she says she was publicly advocating her position on u.s. sanctions. that's not something she would do, she says, if she were a spy. >> terry moran in moscow. terry, thank you. now to the fireworks on capitol hill today.

president trump's pick to replace comey in the fbi. front and center, asked about loyalty to the president, and asked about what the president said just today that this is all a witch hunt. how his nominee answered. abc's senior justice correspondent, pierre thomas, in the room. >> reporter: after firing previous fbi director james comey, president trump's pick to replace him, chris wray, facing intense scrutiny today. grilled about everything from the loyalty to the president to the president's son, don junior. >> if you get a call from somebody suggesting that the foreign government wants to help you by disparaging your opponent, tell us to call the fbi. >> any threat or effort to interfere with our elections from any nation state or any non-state actor is the kind of thing the fbi would want to know. >> all right. so i'll take it we should call you and that's a great answer. >> reporter: after those one-on-one meetings between president trump and james comey, the new nominee was asked, what would he do? >> if the president asked you to

do something unlawful or unethical, what do you say? >> first, i would try to talk him out of it, and if that failed, i would resign. >> reporter: just today, president trump defending his son, again saying the investigation into possible collusion with the russians is a witch hunt. >> i'm asking you as the future fbi director. do you consider this endeavor a witch hunt? >> i do not consider director mueller to be on a witch hunt. >> reporter: and when asked whether he would pledge loyalty to the president -- >> my loyalty is to the constitution. no one asked me for any kind of loyalty oath at any time during this process, and i sure as heck didn't offer one. >> reporter: chris wray's answers seeming to sway even some democrats. >> you think he will be independent enough? >> yes, i do. if that changes, i'll let you know. >> pierre thomas with us live at the fbi, and he seems to be headed to confirmation. rare agreement on both sides, pierre? >> reporter: i think they were satisfied with his answers.

he is a just the facts kind of guy. he is not afraid to challenge the president. he once threatened to resign over a controversial surveillance plan during the last bush administration, david. >> pierre, thank you. we move on now tonight to newly released surveillance video showing the fatal beating of an american while abroad. baa car -- bakari henderson just graduating from college in may, celebrating with a vacation in greece with friends. the video shows him running and then a mob chasing him. and a warning, it's disturbing. here's kayna whitworth. >> reporter: tonight, the newly released surveillance video, 22-year-old bakari henderson, seen running from a mob of angry men on the greek island of zakynthos. he's shoved into a car, violently kicked and punched in the face, his friends say he was pummeled with brass knuckles. the savage attack carried out in under 15 seconds, a man and woman rushing to stop the beating, someone performing cpr, but it wasn't enough. later, authorities saying henderson wasn't able to defend himself, suffering severe head trauma.

nine men under arrest. seven of them, serbian tourists, covering their heads and two workers at the bar where the fight started. this video from inside, showing the first punches. henderson's friends back home in austin, texas horrified by the tragedy saying, he had just graduated from college and had a bright future ahead of him. >> he was going to do so many great things with his life. >> reporter: david, henderson's friends say they were minding their own business in the bar when several men got in henderson's face. as for those charged, their lawyer says they never intended to kill anyone. david? >> kayna whitworth, thank you. we turn next to the search efforts. the digging under way at this hour near philadelphia in the search for those four young men who vanished. tonight, we have learned a person of interest is now under arrest. abc's eva pilgrim from the scene. >> reporter: tonight, with the search for these four missing men intensifying, officials announcing the re-arrest of person of interest, cosmo dinardo. >> this is for receiving stolen

property and theft of a 1996 nissan maxima that is owned by thomas meo, 21 years old. >> reporter: that car found on dinardo's family's property, in a garage. meo's diabetes medication still inside. officials say dinardo was trying to sell the car for $500. authorities searching this field for any sign of tom meo, 19-year-old jimi patrick, 22-year-old mark sturgis and 19-year-old dean finocchiaro, all missing since last week. >> we have recovered several important pieces of evidence. >> reporter: neighbor susan coleman says she heard gunfire on dinardo's property on saturday. >> we heard it, we felt it. it was violent. >> reporter: sturgis and meo, described as close friends, both worked for the same construction business. finocchairo, their mutual friend. patrick, a popular sophomore at loyola university in maryland. >> he was on the baseball team. he was the best kind of person.

>> and eva pilgrim with us again. the man arrested being held on $5 million bail, you were telling us? >> reporter: that's right, david. prosecutors argue cosmo dinardo is a flight risk and danger to the community. his parents releasing a statement tonight saying they sympathize with the parents of those missing men and are cooperating in every way possible with law enforcement, david. >> eva pilgrim in bucks county, pennsylvania. next to the severe storms moving across the country at this hour. six reported tornadoes in just the past 24 hours. this one right here in buxton, north dakota. look at this. lightning striking within feet of a passenger plane at chicago's o'hare airport. let's get to rob marciano. he is tracking it all. it's moving east, right, rob? >> reporter: it is, and a lot of heat and humidity fueling these storms. it is july after all. look at the flash flood watches posted from boston all the way through chicago, and a severe thunderstorm watch in through wisconsin as well. the next 36 hours of the action will be along this front.

several pulses through, and by this time tomorrow, cincinnati and indianapolis along with the ohio river valley getting it. south, really steamy and hot. from kansas city to new york city. many of those areas will feel like 100 degrees tomorrow, david. >> thank you, rob. from the bottom of the earth this evening, one of the largest icebergs ever recorded has now broken away from the antarctic ice shelf. scientists have been concerned for some time about this, and abc's linsey davis with the images coming in now. >> reporter: a massive iceberg now free floating tonight after breaking away from the ice shelf in antarctica. more than a trillion tons and the size of delaware, the iceberg is one of the largest to ever snap off. the crack has been expanding for years. scientists are calling the split an enormous geographical event and are studying what role, if any, regional warming may have played. disappearing ice is an issue on both poles, as we saw firsthand during a visit to baffin island,

just off the coast of greenland in 2012. there's so much more water now compared to when i first came out here. and now it's, like, little islands of ice. while breaks have happened before, what is unusual about this latest one is the size. the concern is if enough large glaciers end up in the ocean, sea levels could rise, which is why scientists will be keeping close watch. linsey davis, abc news, new york. >> linsey, thank you. there is much more ahead on "world news tonight" this wednesday. the commuter nightmare in the major american city. the images tonight. look at this train stuck on the tracks. the problem forcing hundreds of passengers to walk back through the tunnels. also the major cancer headline breaking today. the story of this little girl and the major cancer breakthrough tonight that could affect so many just like her. more on that coming up. and your money tonight. how to make hundreds of dollars a month. as a mystery shopper going to the stores you already go to, and in some cases, there is free merchandise as well. how to do it when we come back.

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next tonight here, your money and how to make a little extra cash becoming a mystery shopper. often at the same stores you already go to. abc's linzie janis out to save your money tonight. >> reporter: you won't notice them but they're out there, in stores and in restaurants. so-called mystery shoppers hired by retailers to shop undercover and give feedback. you've been a mystery shopper for over ten years? >> yes, i'm a pro. >> reporter: we caught up with lori cheek, not on the job today, but when she is, she's like a secret agent on a quality control mission, checking every detail. >> it's the lighting in the window, maybe it's the carpet at the entry, the stock, the staff. >> reporter: she records her observations and files a report. how long does the job take? >> some of them can take ten minutes, some can take two hours. >> reporter: lori says she makes up to $700 a month and gets free food and merchandise.

while the pay and the perks may be tempting, the government warns there are several scams out there. so if you want to be a mystery shopper, do your homework. legitimate companies don't charge people to work for them. never pay fees to be a mystery shopper. and beware of another scam that asks you to deposit a check and wire some of the money back in order to activate your employment. david? >> never pay them. let them pay you. linzie, thank you. when we come back, a quiz for you tonight. the top sports team in the world, and the american team at the top of the list. also that commuter train nightmare. passengers walking through the tunnels. and the major cancer breakthrough that helped this little girl and could affect so many. little girl and could affect so many. little girl and could affect so many. but why go back there, when you can stay home... ...with neulasta onpro? strong chemo can put you at risk of serious infection, which could lead to hospitalizations. in a key study, neulasta reduced the risk of infection from 17% to 1%...

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for minor injuries. a major medical break through tonight. an fda panel approving a first of its kind therapy to help children battle leukemia in children and young adults. novartis developing the drug referred to as car-t therapy. emily whitehead, the first pediatric patient to receive the treatment has been cancer free for five years. the fda's final decision is expected in september. really encouraging. how about the cowboys tonight? "forbes" revealing the dallas cowboys are the most valuable sporp spor sports team in the world. the team worth $4.2 billion. the yankees are second at $3.7 billion, and of course, then soccer many manchester united. when we come back here tonight, america strong. deborah roberts takes us behind-the-scenes on broadway tonight. your front row seat for something very special. he-scenes on broadway tonight. your front row seat for something very special. i was playing golf days ago... love golf. i used to love golf. wait, what, what happened?

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finally tonight here, america strong. what happens when the school play plays out on broadway? the school children who never thought they would have their broadway debut. here's deborah roberts. >> reporter: morning's just beginning here in east elmhurst, new york, but students from ps 127 have already been hard at work for months. about to perform "the lion king kids." ♪ >> hi i'm preya and i play zazu.

>> my name is anabelle brisita and i play rafiki. >> my name is anthony isaac and wait -- tell me the question again! >> reporter: a question his class almost didn't get to answer. school plays are a rite of passage, but for districts with shrinking funding -- >> a lot of times arts are sacrificed. >> reporter: that's where disney, abc's parent company steps in, with their disney musicals in school program, offering free performance tools to schools in need. ♪ and for kids in new york city, a trip to broadway. they actually get to perform, here, at the iconic new amsterdam theater. parents waiting around the block to get in. let's take a look back stage through the official stage door. it's almost show time. come on. so you're just about to go on, how are you feeling? >> a bunch of butterflies in my stomach. >> reporter: the little stars take the stage. ♪

[ cheers and applause ] the reviews? raves. >> it was amazing. it was absolutely amazing. >> reporter: when you go home tonight what are you going to feel? >> i'm going to dream about it all night long. >> reporter: a dream come true. ♪ [ cheers and applause ] >> our thanks to deborah roberts, and to those budding stars for making our night. thanks for watching here on a wednesday evening. i'm david muir. i hope to see you right back here tomorrow. good night. evening. i'm david muir. i hope to see you right back here tomorrow. good night. more than six months after the deadly ghost ship fire, a new search for clues on what

caused it. and a place miles away from the burned warehouse. >> tonight, sfpd taking heat over a crash between an officer and skateboarder. some are saying the officer deliberately caused it. you take a selfie and you own that picture. what if the picture is a monkey? a case that's made it all the way to the ninth circuit of appeals. live, where you live. this is "abc7 news." what we're doing here is looking for evidence of a degree that can help with the fire cause. > this is now the new place to look for answers about what started the deadly ghost ship fire, which caused the deaths of 36 people. good evening. >> it's been just over six months since the deadliest structure fire in oakland history, and now the families hope to find new clues how it started. >> the fire burned last december. and within months, debris was

trucked to an empty field where it has sat virtually untouched ever since. >> vic lee joins us live with a look at what searchers hope to find and why it's so important. vic? >> reporter: what the plaintiff's attorneys hope to find here is anything at all, frankly, that will help their civil law suit against those they believe were responsible for that fire. now, it will be a fishing trip. it's going to be very difficult, they say. but that search is going on behind me right at the end of that small road. the searchers have been there all day. this is the evidence field, tons of charred debris from last december's inferno. >> we're here with our experts looking for evidence. >> reporter: it's like trying to find a needle in a hay stack. a second location, a