tonight, breaking news on several fronts. first, the white house. the report in "the new york times," that says two white house insiders helped provide secret intelligence to the congressman who is heading up what is supposed to be an independent investigation into russian meddling and possible collusion. the report unleashing a firestorm tonight. plus, vladimir putin with a message for america. also developing tonight, the severe storm warnings. the tornado watch, as we come on the air. nearly 40 million in the path of storms tonight. and now snow coming to the east. the deadly bus crash. 13 victims. a church group. the officer shot and killed after pulling over a driver because of a taillight. thoug authorities have now charged the driver with murder and have revealed the video. and the american airlines flight, the captain and the

co-pilot in the air when the co-pilot dies. good evening. and it's great to have you with us on a very busy thursday night. first up, the white house. and the fire storm over a "new york times" report today. that the congressman who is heading up the investigation into any possible collusion with the russians, that he was secretly helped in obtaining intelligence by members of the white house team. "the new york times" identifying two white house officials who allegedly helped provide that intelligence to republican congressman devin nunes. it was nunes who had that mystery meeting on white house grounds that's never been explained. tonight, our correspondent asking the ranking member of that committee, how can the american public have any confidence in this investigation at all? abc's mary bruce, leading us off. >> reporter: he is the republican congressman who is supposed to be leading an independent investigation into russian meddling and any possible collusion with the trump campaign. but tonight, that bombshell "new york times" report --

congressman devin nunes had help from the white house. "the times" saying two administration officials played a role in getting him intelligence. one of those officials, ezra coe hen wattnick, the senior director for intelligence at the national security council. nunes holding a mystery meeting on white house grounds that's never been explained. >> that your obsession with who talked to whom and when is not the answer here. it should be the substance. >> reporter: but who talked to whom does matter. nunes says he received information showing the trump team was incidentally caught up in surveillance. the next day, he made a public show of bringing that intelligence to the president, instead of the bipartisan committee he runs. >> what i've read bothers me and i think it should bother the president himself and his team. >> reporter: the president said it backed up his baseless claims that president obama wiretapped him.

>> do you feel vindicated by chairman nunes coming over here, sir? >> i somewhat do. i must tell you, i somewhat do. >> reporter: democrats on the hill, even some republicans, crying foul, asking, why the show? why would nunes brief the president on information he got from trump's own white house staffers? >> and they can present it to the white house staff and the president himself at any time. so, why all the cloak and dagger stuff? and that's something we need to get to the bottom of. >> reporter: nunes has been adamant, he will not reveal his source. still not going to share your source? >> look, i've answered these questions over and over again and will continue to do that, but there's nothing new to report. >> reporter: all week long, the white house press secretary has promised to look into who cleared the congressman onto white house grounds. but not anymore. >> so, what you're telling us today is you're never going to get the answer -- you, yourself -- are never going to get the answer to who cleared in chairman nunes? >> i'm saying a decision was made to focus on the process and substance and the decision was

made. >> reporter: so, where does this lead the investigation into russia's meddling in the election? we asked the committee's top democrat. you're investigation has effectively ground to a halt because of these questions and because of a lot of politics. how can the american public still have confidence in this investigation? >> well, there's no question that there is a cloud over the investigation. we are determined to go forward, whatever obstacles are put in our way. >> an important to ask. mary bruce live on the hill with us. i want to go back to the white house for a moment. they won't confirm or deny whether administration officials helped give nunes that information? >> reporter: the white house press secretary says he can't get into the chairman's sources, but the white house is inviting the republican and democratic leaders of the house and senate investigations to the white house to view newly discovered documents. now what those documents are, they won't say that, either. david? >> mary bruce leading us off tonight. mary, thank you. and while all of this was playing out, there was another drama unfolding. this one, also involving russia.

among the revelations that russia had thousands of paid internet trolls, people filling americans twitter feeds and your facebook news feeds, with headlines that were completely made up. and vladimir putin tonight with a message from america, borrowing words from what an american president has said before. here's abc's senior justice correspondent pierre thomas. >> reporter: tonight, the stunning warning that russia not only tried to hijack the last u.s. election, but will try again. >> this is not fake news. this is actually what happened to us. >> reporter: the russians, u.s. officials believe, using a cyber army against americans. >> the russians employed thousands of paid internet trolls and bot nets to push out disinformation and fake news at a high volume, focusing this material onto your twitter and facebook feeds. >> reporter: and a hearing witness, former fbi agent clint watts, even accused president

trump in using the same tactics. >> part of the reason active measures have worked in this election is the commander in chief has used russian active measures at times against this opponents. >> reporter: then candidate trump famously encouraging the russians during the election. >> russia, if you're listening, i hope you're able to find the 30,000 e-mails. >> wikileaks, i love wikileaks. >> reporter: but watts tonight claiming trump himself was targeted. >> i can tell you right now today, gray outlets that are soviet-pushing accounts, tweet at president trump during high volumes when they know he's online and they push conspiracy theories. >> reporter: and what's most sinister, officials say, is that the russian campaign reportedly even targeted voters in battleground states like wisconsin, michigan and pennsylvania. attacks that, just yeseterday, hillary clinton's press secretary admitted was a "blind spot" that caught them off guard. the attacks unprecedented and ongoing. >> aren't we in the midst of a blitzkrieg, for lack of a better term, of informational warfare conducted by russian trolls under the command of vladimir

putin, designed to sew instability, pit us against each other as americans? >> reporter: senator rubio today acknowledging he's even been a target of the russians. first in july 2016 and stunningly, just yesterday, at 10:45 a.m. both attempts failed. putin aware of the widening investigation inside the u.s., today rejected accusations of meddling. "read my lips," he said, "no." >> pierre, these senators wanted to make it clear today, no drama in their investigation. in fact, republicans joined democrats cede in declaring the russians did this and they'll do it again? >> reporter: david, republicans and democrats don't agree on much these days, but today, everyone agreed, the russians tried to hijack the election, with stunning aggression. and, yes, they will try again, david. >> pierre thomas on this story again tonight. thank you. and this evening, just before we came on the air, president trump with a tweet storm, naming names, after his

failure on health care, obamacare still the rlaw of the land. and president trump is making it clear who he blames. some conservative republicans who did not vote for the president's plan. is this a warning shot with the midterms next up? here's abc's senior white house correspondent cecilia vega tonight. >> reporter: the president today making a declaration of war in 140 characters or less. going after some in his own party, those conservatives blamed for derailing health care, tweeting, "the freedom caucus will hurt the entire republican agenda if they don't get on the team and fast. we must fight them and dems in 2018." this threat to throw down in the midterm elections comes after the president said last week the loss taught him exactly who his friends are in washington. >> we all learned a lot. we learned a lot about loyalty. >> reporter: but fighting his own party? >> i'm going to let the tweet speak for itself, it would be improper of me to discuss the election or defeat of any candidate from this podium. >> reporter: some freedom caucus

members now fighting back. >> is this an actual negotiation tactic by the president though or do you think this is a constructive way to do it? >> i mean, it's constructive in fifth grade. >> reporter: congressman justin amash tweeting, "it didn't take long for the swamp to drain @realdonaldtrump." others, more diplomatic. he's essentially threatening you guys come 2018. where is the loyalty? that? >> well, based on what he's hearing. he thinks we're a no. when we're trying to get him to yes on a bill that will help the republicans and him. >> reporter: virginia congressman dave is brat telling me today, he just wants the president to hear him out. you want to say something to him directly? >> no, he's great, you're great. we all ran on drain the swamp, we're going to provide a great product and we're on your side. >> let's bring in cecilia tonight, with us live. and as i mentioned, the president naming names in those tweets tonight. this clearly appears to be a warning shot. and you asked something very important there about loyalty. loyalty, very important to this president. >> reporter: it certainly is, but today, he's calling out four members by name.

make no mistake, david, this is a threat aimed at democrats and those freedom caucus republicans. the big question right now, david, if he's at war with this group that he needs, how is he going to get anything done on capitol hill? >> cecilia vega, always great to have you with us. next tonight here, the severe storms on the move at this hour. a tornado watch issued for parts of indiana and ohio tonight. several other states also bracing for these storms. the same system blamed for at least 21 reported tornadoes so far. in louisiana today, this water spout spotted nearby on lake pontchartrain. nearly 40 million americans in the path of potentially dangerous storms tonight, and snow -- snow coming to parts of the east. let's get right to rob marciano, live with us tonight. hey, rob. >> reporter: hi, david. this is a large sprawling storm, lumbering to the east. severe weather for now is the main threat. you mentioned that tornado watch in indiana. wind gusts over 60 miles an hour in illinois and big size hail doing damage to cars there. also across the florida panhandle. this moves east and morphs into

a coastal low. a miserable day, new york, philly, d.c. tomorrow. temps, low 40s. snow above i-90 and some sleet in the mix there, just outside of boston and hartford. we could see ten inches of snow, certainly a foot at the higher elevations, especially across northern new england. it's going to be heavy, potentially power outages. that is fresh, significant snow on the ground april 1st. david? >> all right, rob marciano, thank you. i think. we turn onto other news here this evening, and the federal investigation under way into that horrific bus crash in texas, playing out while well were on the air last night here. 13 members of a church group wrp killed in a head-on collision near san antonio. the driver of a pickup swerved into their lane, that driver surviving. abc's phillip mena in texas. >> reporter: tonight, invest fay torps are trying to figure out why a pickup truck veered head-on into this bus along this texas highway. killing the buses driver and 12 other seniors onboard.

members of a church choir making their way home from a retreat. the one bus passenger who survived, a 64-year-old woman, now in critical condition. officials believe that pickup truck crossed the yellow line into oncoming traffic. members of the first baptist church in new braunfels in grief. >> these are individuals we've sat next to and had dinner with and laughed with and cried with and worshipped with, so, you know, they were part of our church family. >> reporter: tonight, that pickup driver is in stable condition. the pastor asking for prayers for his family. >> that family is hurting. i encourage that we show grace to them. >> reporter: david, authorities tell us tonight, they have not yet spoken to that 20-year-old driver, and they also say, it will be at least a month before they can complete the investigation or possibly file any charges. david? >> phillip, thank you. next tonight here, new outrage over north carolina's controversial bathroom bill. the governor today signing a compromise bill now, rolling back part of the law requiring

transgender people to use bathrooms that correspond with the gender on their birth certificate. civil rights and gay rights groups saying the revised law still allows for discrimination. it is estimated the old law threatened to cost the state billions of dollars in lost revenue. and a major setback tonight for planned parenthood. vice president mike pence today casting the tiebreaking vote in the senate, passing a bill allowing states to withhold federal funds from planned parenthood and health care centers. president trump is expected to sign the bill. next tonight here, new developments in the stand your ground case unfolding in oklahoma. the homeowner's son who shot and killed three masked teens who broke in, armed. tonight, our correspondent one-on-one with the alleged getaway driver, who is expected to face charges herself. here's abc's kayna whitworth. >> reporter: tonight, a stunning admission in that oklahoma home invasion, that left three teens dead and this alleged getaway driver facing charges in their deaths. >> i know what we did was stupid

and wrong. >> reporter: 21-year-old moerl and of three elizabeth rodriguez, sitting down with abc news in the wagoner county jail, where she is being held on three counts of felony first degree murder for her alleged involvement in the deadly botched burglary. >> we made really bad choices. i'm really sorry for the choices i made and what i did in it. >> reporter: rodriguez says it was her idea to target that home when she and her friends planned the burglary. the teens first stole liquor, speakers and a machete from the garage -- >> just thought we could get more. we were greedy. we were greedy. >> reporter: donning masks, armed with brass knuckles, and a knife, the three teens broke into the main home of 23-year-old zack peters. rodriguez says she and another female waited in the car. police say inside the home, peters shot all three boys, killing them. >> i've just been broken into.

three men, two i've shot in my house. >> reporter: did you know that it was gunshots? >> yeah. because there was a lot, it was like, first, there was two and then just pop, pop, and then pop, pop, pop, pop, pop. >> are they bleeding? >> yes. i believe one -- one's down, one's still talking. you need to get here now. >> reporter: one of the teens running, making it almost to the car. >> he slid across the hood and said, "i got hit." >> reporter: are you taking responsibility for this? >> i don't take responsibility for their murders. i won't -- i feel guilty but i don't feel responsible. >> reporter: david, investigators are trying to figure out if peters actions were justified under the stand your ground law. also, formal charges could be brought against rodriguez as early as monday. david? >> kayna whitworth again tonight. there is still much more ahead on "world news tonight" this thursday. the officer shot and killed, the video of the drama unfolding now released tonight. the officer had pulled the

driver over because of a taillight. that driver now charged with murder. the american airlines flight. the captain and the co-pilot in mid-air, and then, the emergency. the co-pilot falling ill and dying in the cockpit just been landing. and then, the supersized headline tonight involving mcdonald's. a big change coming to all of those burgers. will you like it? umbrellas!! you need one of these. you wouldn't put up with an umbrella that covers you part way, so when it comes to pain relievers,

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officer william "mike" grubbs could not be revived. american's ceo says "they lost a his and father and many colleagues lost a personal friend." airline pilot and aviation professor tanya gatlin says cockpit emergencies like this are rare, but something crews train for. >> we're trained for it. we're prepared for it. along with that is the emotional stress of your friend, you know, and you're hoping they're okay. >> reporter: officials have not yet released a cause of death, and tonight, one passenger tells us, she had no idea how serious the situation was until that plane was on the ground. david? >> clayton sandell tonight. thanks. when we come back here, the major headline tonight involving a famous serial killer. also tonight, that disturbing video. the young officer shot and killed. he pulled over a driver because of a taillight. that driver charged with murder that driver charged with murder tonight. i use what's already inside me to reach mals. so i liked when my doctor told me i may reach my blood sugar and a1c goals by activating what's within me

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this is "jeopardy!" today's contestants are a retired government relations specialities from ottawa, ontario, canada... an attorney from raleigh, north carolina... and our returning champion, a professor of english from jacksonville, florida... ...whose 2-day cash winnings total... and now here is the host of "jeopardy!" -- alex trebek! [ cheers and applause ] thank you. thank you, johnny. thank you, ladies and gentlemen. one of the fun things about hosting this program is that i never know who the challengers on the show are going to be. i get to see them for the first time right now. eric and brook, welcome aboard.