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tv   ABC World News Tonight With David Muir  ABC  August 3, 2022 3:30pm-4:00pm PDT

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tonight, america's battle over abortion rights now at the center of the midterm elections. voters in kansas soundly rejecting a measure that would have eliminate d abortio ition. the first indication of where voters stand following the supreme court decision overturns roe versus wade. president biden is calling the vote a decisive victory. how one state's vote could reshape the midterms. rachel scott standing by. also tonight, 100 million americans under heat alerts tonight. extreme temperatures from texas to maine. in flood ravaged kentucky, where thousands are without water or power, the heat index hit triple digits today. rob marciano tracking it all. the courtroom showdown between conspiracy theorist alex jones and the parents of a sandy hook victim. for years, he's called the massacre a hoax.
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what he conceded on the stand today. and the family's attorney dropping a surprise bomb shell. news tonight about the alleged gunman charged in the shooting in highland park, illinois, answering to 117 felony counts in court today. and a new image of one of the youngest victims to survive the attack. the alarming report from the u.n.'s nuclear chief. europe's largest nuclear plant is, quote, completely out of control. his urgent plea to ukraine and russia to help avoid a nuclear disaster. house speaker nancy pelosi's defiant message to china following her while wirl wind to taiwan. late word tonight about a u.s. congresswoman killed in a horrific car crash. members of her staff among the victims. the death defying fall, thousands of feet in the air. the paraglider tangled in his parachute. how he saved himself at the last possible second. and the voice of america's pastime. the gold standard.
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>> swung on and missed. a perfect game! >> tributes to dodgers announcer vin scully. more than six decades in sports broadcasting. one of baseball's greatest and most beloved icons. good evening, everyone. thank you for joining us on this wednesday. i'm linsey davis, in for david. we begin tonight with the surprise vote on abortion rights and what it could mean for the midterm elections. voters in the solid red state of kansas overwhelmingly protecting the right to abortion, less than six weeks after the supreme court overturned roe versus wade, on the heels of the kansas vote, today, president biden saying voters of kansas sent a powerful signal. several of last night's key races are still undecided, including the republican primary for arizona's governor, testing donald trump's hold on the republican party. democrats and republicans are now looking for momentum with
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less than 100 days until the midterms. abc's rachel scott is in kansas ad leads us off. >> reporter: in washington today, president biden praising the surprise show of support for abortion rights in kansas. the first time voters made thei >> i am so proud of kansas right now. >> the court practically dared women in this country to go to the ballot box and restore the right to choose that the court had just ripped away after 50 years. >> reporter: by a resounding margin of 61-39, kansas voters rejected an amendment to strip away the right to an abortion from the state's constitution. kansas is a ruby red state. donald trump won here by 15 points and there are 350,000 more registered republicans than democrats. but last night's vote wasn't even close. turnout was overwhelming. 900,000 people showing up to vote on a tuesday in the middle of august.
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voters we spoke to, like breanna and kyle o'brien, told us the stakes could not be higher. what do you think is at risk? >> i would say, first and foremost, it's not just about kansas women. this is going to be an example that's set throughout the whole u.s. >> reporter: for the o'briens, its personal. breanna had an abortion in june after learning their child would be born with rare and severe genetic conditions. >> every family has -- should have that right to decide what's best for their babies. >> reporter: democrats hope what happened in kansas will shape the midterm elections. >> the voters of kansas in a powerful signal that this fall the american people will vote to preserve and protect the right and refuse to let them be ripped away by politicians. >> reporter: but in washington, the republican senator from kansas roger marshall says, not so fast. he admits he was stunned by the results in his state. >> i was absolutely surprised and i have no explanation. and again, it was just a gut punch. that's all i can tell you.
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>> reporter: but marshall tells us voters will have other things on their minds when they go to elect candidates in november. >> i think voters come november will be very focused on the cost of gas line and groceries and -- and rent. that's all i hear about. >> rachel scott joins us now from overland, park, kansas. rachel, the results in kansas are clearly the story of the night. we saw big victories from republican candidates who had donald trump's seal of approval. >> reporter: yes, linsey. and the starkest example was in arizona, where you have primary winners up and down the ballot who have embraced trump's false claims about the 2020 election. the republican winner for secretary of state in arizona attended trump's rally on january 6th. if these candidates were to win in november, they would have a significant role in overseeing the next presidential election, linsey. >> rachel scott, thank you. next tonight, here alerts in effect for 100 million americans from texas to maine. triple digit temperatures in dallas once again.
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in kentucky, where deadly flooding left thousands without power or water, residents now face extreme heat. in northern california, the mckinney fire leaving a small town in ruins. let's get right to abc's rob marciano. any relief in sight, rob? >> reporter: no, and unfortunately, we're entering august the same way we left july which is unusually warm. several big cities on track to have their warmest summers on record. take a look at this. houston, san antonio, austin, memphis, tampa, if august is like june and july, that's going to set a record. heat advisories through the mid south. tomorrow, big cities like newark and hartford and boston could set records. temps getting to near 100 degrees. not much cooling on saturday. there's a cold front that's trying to push into this warm air. severe thunderstorms from st. louis to detroit tonight. this doesn't make a whole lot of progress, kind of washes out, so, don't expect any sort of big cooldown here in the east. linsey? >> rob, thank you.
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next tonight, the courtroom showdown between conspiracy theorist alex jones and parents of a sandy hook victim. for years he's called the mass shooting of 26 children and staff a hoax. at trial today, he conceded the massacre was 100% real. and while he was on the stand, the family's attorney delivered a stunning twist. here's abc's erielle reshef. >> reporter: tonight, that admission from conspiracy theorist and radio firebrand alex jones. >> it was, especially since i met the parents. it's 100% real. >> reporter: finally acknowledging the tragedy the world witnessed in 2012. 20 elementary school students and six staff gunned down at sandy hook. >> i can't even describe the last 9 1/2 years of the living hell that i and others have had to endure. >> reporter: the parents of 6-year-old jesse lewis seeking $150 million in damaging, telling a texas courtroom that jones has compounded their anguish by calling the 2012
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school massacre a hoax. and calling them crisis actors. inciting his millions of followers against them. the parents saying they've endured violence, harassment, and death threats as a result of his toxic rhetoric. jones shaking his head as jesse's mom scarlette confronted him directly from the stand. >> you keep saying it. why? for money? >> reporter: throughout his testimony, jones stating he'd lost nearly everything after he was banned from facebook, youtube, and apple platforms. his company filing for bankruptcy. but the family's attorney revealing jones' lawyer mistakenly sent him two years worth of jones' text messages showing jones' infowars businesses brought in roughly $800,000 in one day from sales as he peddled mistruths. jones claiming in court that number wasn't the norm. on tuesday, the judge admonishing him. >> you may not tell this jury that you are bankrupt, that is also not true.
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you must tell the truth while you testify. this is not your show. >> reporter: linsey, the jury now has this case. alex jones has already been found liable. they will now decide how much to award in damages. linsey? >> erielle, thank you. news tonight about the alleged gunman charged in the deadly mass shooting during the fourth of july parade in highland park, illinois. he appeared in court today where h entered a plea of not guilty to killing seven people and wounding dozens of others, allegedly opening fire on the crowd from a rooftop. the victims range in age from 8 to 88. here's abc's ike ejiochi. >> reporter: the accused gunman in the july 4th massacre in highland park, illinois, in court today pleading not guilty. 21-year-old robert crimo iii charged on 117 counts after allegedly opening fire on the parade crowd from a rooftop, killing seven people and wounding dozens of others. prosecutors say crimo planned the shooting for weeks, even
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disguising himself as a women to escape from the scene. the victims ranging from 8 to 88. ashley beasley, who was at the parade with her son that day, says it was important to be there today. >> i'm here today because people from my community cannot be here. they're not ready. they are broken, living in fear. >> reporter: tonight, 8-year-old cooper roberts, who was paralyzed in the shooting, is finally out of the hospital. he's undergone multiple surgeries, but is still recovering at a rehab. his family sharing photos of his reunion with the family's dog. they say they hope to have him home soon. crimo is facing 21 counts of first degree murder. prosecutors saying today if he's convicted of at least two counts of murder, he'll face life in prison without the possibility of parole. linsey? >> ike, thank you. overseas tonight, the alarming report from the u.n.'s nuclear chief. he says the war in ukraine has left europe's largest nuclear plant, quote, completely out of control. he warns the situation is
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growing worse by the day and immediate action needs to be taken to avert a nuclear disaster. abc's senior foreign correspondent ian pannell is in ukraine. >> reporter: tonight, the head of the u.n. nuclear watchdog warning the zaporizhzhia power plant in ukraine is completely out of control. rafael grossi, the director general of the international atomic energy agency, telling the associated press -- >> what's at stake is the nuclear safety and security of the biggest nuclear power plant in the european continent. >> reporter: ukraine accusing russia of storing explosives, weapons, and heavily-armored vehicles inside the plant, using it for cover to fire rockets at a nearby town. the facility in southeastern ukraine is the largest in europe and was the scene of fierce fighting in march when russian forces took control. russia has accused ukraine of attacking their positions. a recent ukrainian military drone video showing an attack on russian forces based at the plant. but secretary of state blinken blaming the kremlin for the risks.
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>> russia is now using the plant as a military base to fire at ukrainians, knowing that they can't and won't shoot back. >> reporter: the u.n. nuclear chief warning the situation is getting more perilous by the day, pleading with both sides to allow experts in to stabilize the situation and avoid a nuclear disaster. linsey? >> such a grave situation there. ian, thank you. next tonight, house speaker nancy pelosi is on the next leg of her asia tour. speaker pelosi with a message for china, vowing the u.s. will not abandon taiwan. while there, she melt with two top computer chip executives, an industry crucial to the u.s. and its national security. china is now responding with military exercises off taiwan's shores. next tonight, jackie walorski has been killed in a car crash. she had represented indiana's second district since 2013. she served on the house ways and means committee and was the top republican on the ethics committee. she was 58. three others, including two
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members of her staff, emma thompson and zachary potts, also died. f flags at the white house and capitol will be flown at half staff. we move on now to major developments on the investigation into the january 6th attack on the capitol. a grand jury has subpoenaed pat cipollone following his revealing testimony to the january 6th committee. here's abc's chief justice correspondent pierre thomas. >> reporter: tonight, the justice department increasingly locking in on the white house and the actions of president trump. abc news first reporting that former white house counsel pat cipollone and his top deputy have been subpoenaed to appear before a grand jury. making cipollone the highest ranking trump administration official known to be called so far. he can provide insight into critical areas the justice department is investigating, including what was going on in the white house as the insurrection unfolded. >> so, are you aware of any phone call by the president of
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the united states to the secretary of defense that day? >> not that i'm aware of, no. >> reporter: doj also clearly wants to know more about the scheme to use so-called fake electors who supported trump to derail biden's certification as president. cipollone opposed that plan. he told the january 6th committee some of trump's advisors even proposed seizing voting machines. >> why was this on -- on a broader scale, a bad idea for the country? >> to have the federal gvernment seize voting machines? that's a terrible idea. that's not how we do things in the united states. >> reporter: cipollone has already testified before the january 6th committee on a range of topics for more than seven hours. though he frequently invoked executive privilege. it's unclear how much he would do that in front of a grand jury. linsey? >> pierre, thank you. one more headline from the justice department to note tonight. today, the doj filed a civil lawsuit against peter navarro.
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he's accused of violating the presidential records act, allegedly using a private email account for official messages that should have been preserved. navarro is already under criminal indictment for defying a subpoena from the january 6th committee. news tonight about a major error possibly effecting the credit scores of millions of americans. the v "the wall street journal" reporting equifax reported the wrong scores. the company is blaming a coding issue, but claims the impact was minimal. here's abc's trevor ault. >> reporter: tonight, one of the nation's largest consumer credit reporting agencies under fire as equifax and milts it miscalculating some credit scores this spring. >> if affected, it can have gotten in the way of your ability to access a loan or credit at a tomb when you might have needed it, especially at a time when interest rates were a little bit lower than they are now. >> reporter: equifax blames the error on a technology coding
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issue from mid-march to early april, saying in a statement, "less than 300,000 consumers experienced a score shift of 25 points or more," and "there was no shift in the vast majority of scores." the ceo addressing the issue at a financial conference in june. >> we think the impact is going to be quite small, not something that's meaningful to equifax. >> reporter: but "the wall street journal" reports "equifax provided inaccurate credit scores on millions of u.s. consumers" as they applied for mortgages, car loans and credit cards. some potentially receiving higher interest rates or being denied loans altogether. >> you can talk to the lender and have them reassess your application and give you more details about how they made their decision. >> reporter: and linsey, eck we fax says the coding issues have been fixed and they are working with customers to determine the true cost of these errors. linsey? >> trevor, thank you. following an emotional bat until the senate, president biden is expected to sign the p.a.c.t. act into law on monday. it provides health care to help
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american veterans exposed to toxic burn pits. republicans delayed passage because of a technical error. jon stewart, who fiercely advocated for the bill, celebrated with veterans and military families after the bill's passage. when we come back, the d dramatic images from a botched robbery in california. how the store owner fought back. and remembering vin scully. despite treatment it disrupts my skin with itch. it disrupts my skin with rash. but now, i can disrupt eczema with rinvoq. rinvoq is not a steroid, topical, or injection. it's one pill, once a day, that's effective without topical steroids. many taking rinvoq saw clear or almost-clear skin while some saw up to 100% clear skin. plus, they felt fast itch relief some as early as 2 days. that's rinvoq relief. rinvoq can lower your ability to fight infections, including tb. serious infections and blood clots, some fatal, cancers including lymphoma and skin cancer, death,
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at gun point. police are now investigating these images. one man enters the store with a long gun. the 80-year-old owner armed with a shotgun then fires, wounding a suspect. they all race out of the store and flee. four men were arrested. the owner suffered a heart attack after the incident and is now recovering. when we come back, the frantic race against time. a paraglider who managed to save his own life just in the nick of time. myasthenia gravis who are positive for acetylcholine receptor antibodies, it may feel like the world is moving without you. but the picture is changing, with vyvgart. in a clinical trial, participants achieved improved daily abilities with vyvgart added to their current treatment. and vyvgart helped clinical trial participants achieve reduced muscle weakness. vyvgart may increase the risk of infection. in a clinical study, the most common infections were urinary tract and respiratory tract infections. tell your doctor if you have a history of infections
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to the index. the nfl is appealing the
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six-game suspension of cleveland browns quarterback deshaun watson. a judge ruled watson violated the league's personal conduct policy. the nfl reportedly had asked for a much longer suspension. watson has been accused of sexual misconduct by dozens of women but has not been charged with a crime. he denies any wrong doing. and take a look at this story. an extremely close call for a paraglider in spain. his parachute fails to open. you can see the parachute b becomes trapped around him as he gets closer to the ground and he can't reach the safety chute. he later said he did not panic as he was falling. just in the nick of time, he was able to deploy that backup chute and he says he'll go back up again. when we come back, a look back at the legendary life of the sports broadcast ervin scully and how he wanted to be remembered. ♪ got my hair got my head ♪ introducing new one a day multi+. a complete multivitamin
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finally tonight, america strong. remembering a giant of baseball who never threw a pitch. >> it's time for dodger baseball! >> reveres as the voice who provided the soundtrack of summer -- >> hi, everybody, a pleasant sunday to you wherever you may be. >> his voice accompanied the plays from football to golf. >> welcome to the final round. >> of course, on the baseball field, he was royalty. vin scully knew what he wanted to do since he was 8 years old. >> i used to crawl under this big radio. i was intoxicated by the roar of the crowd. and kept thinking, "wow, i'd like to be there. i'd like to be that fella broadcasting the game." >> in 1950, at 22, scully joined >> on radio and tv, every windup, every pitch, every hit.
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>> in there standing with a double. >> starting back in 19590 when he was 22, scully's enthusiasm and love of the game went hand and glove with the experience of dodgers baseball. he could call the game for some of the greats including jackie robinson and gil hodges. >> a perfect game in a world series. >> in the 1965 world series, he called sandy koufax's perfect game. >> swung on and missed. a perfect game. >> in 1974, when hank aaron smashed babe ruth's home run record -- >> to the fence -- it is gone! >> marvelous moment for the country and the world. a black man is getting a standing ovation in the deep south. >> the 1988 world series when kirk gibson hit a homer and hobbled around the bases. >> she is gone! >> over the course of his more than 60-year career, his voice enshrined in baseball history.
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>> believe me when i tell you, i've needed you far more than you needed me. >> he would receive the presidential medal of freedom. but for all his achievements, scully said this is how he wanted to be remembered. >> i just want to be remembered as a good man, an honest man, and one who lived up to his own beliefs. >> vin scully was 94. the beloved voice of baseball. thank you so much for joining. i'm lynne see davis. for david and all of us here, good night.
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was not going to make a huge difference. >> clashes between police and protesters in a park known for decades of protests. liz: these berkeley, a new student housing that was approved last september after years of debate. >> police were sent in overnight to clear a small homeless and kampmann. and sing was put up to block off the historian park -- historic park for construction and that's when the class began with protesters.
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>> people's park in berkeley has a history of resistance. >> come on! if we all come together, there's an opening here! >> as a climate change activist, it is really painful to see a park built by the community for the community being torn down. >> that resistance was met with police force. officers, some in riot gear, pushed back protesters, trying to keep them from getting into the fenced off area, but a few, like uc berkeley student bryce smith, broke through. >> the people would not stand for this in the 1960's when this was built. these trees are older than me are a lot of other people. >> we want this norm to be open and ready to roll two years from now. that is a tight construction