here's abc7 news senior white house correspondent cecilia vega. >> reporte: myesha johnson was there to receive her husband's remains, their 6-year-old daughter by her side. johnson six months pregnant with her third child. just moments before this phone call from president trump. myesha johnson answered in the car and listening on speaker phone, congresswoman frederica wilson. >> i heard him say, well, i guess you know you knee what he was signing up for, but it still hurts. and i couldn't believe that he said that. >> reporter: wilson said the president never mentioned sergeant johnson by name. >> he kept referring to him as your guy. >> reporter: but today president trump disputed that. >> i had a very nice conversation with the woman, with the wife, who sounded like a lovely woman. did not say what the congresswoman said. >> reporter: and on twitter he said, democrat congresswoman totally fabricated what i said to the wife of a soldier who died in action. and i have proof. sad. >> what proof does president trump have when he says, congresswoman wilson is not telling the truth? ar

cecilia vega leading us off tonight. cecilia, thank you. >>> it was monday in the rose garden when the president was asked about the deaths of four u.s. servicemen, part of a green beret team, all special ops, killed in an ambush in niger. 12 days had gone by with no comment from the president. it was there that the president talked about those solemn phone calls. tonight, the pentagon has revealed an investigation. how did these four men die, and did they have the intelligence and the backup that they needed to get out? here's abc's chief investigative correspondent brian ross tonight. >> reporter: the deadly ambush in this remote african village happened more than two weeks ago. but tonight, the pentagon is still not providing a full and cogent narrative of how four american soldiers died after being attacked by an overwhelming force of more than 50 militants. officials said the full investigation, only announced today, is still ongoing. >> subsaharan africa is a very difficult place to operate. so, we will -- we'll in

>> we're not going to talk about that today. >> and cecilia vega joins us live tonight. cecilia, the president said any discussion about guns will come down the road today, but on capitol hill today, there was a lot of focus on what are called bump stock attachments that matt reported on, that can essentially turn assault rifles into automatic weapons. and there is word tonight that senator grin feinstein and two republican lawmakers are talking about legislation to ban them? >> reporter: yeah, david. a handful of senate republicans seem open to the idea of holding hears on this subject. a similar movement is in the house, as well. but mitch mcconnell says it's premature to be talking about this. a vote seems like a long way off. >> cecilia vega with us here in las vegas tonight. >>> there was an extraordinary mare moment that played out here taeshgsd after an interview we brought you last night here. a son, who was at the concert for his 21st birthday, he was shot, and then saved by a young man who held pressure to his wounds all the way to the hospital, staying next to

cecilia vega joins us live from the white house. back to the feud between the president and bob corker, that could create problems for the president's agenda going forward. >> reporter: yes, he's on the senate foreign relations committee and the budget committee. he will be essential to president trump on topics like tax reform. not a vote this president can afford to lose as he struggles to pass his own agenda in washington. >> cecilia vega, thank you. >>> next, new images just in from the las vegas massacre. investigators taking another look inside the gunman's home. it comes as we are learning new details about his final days. and what may have been his undiagnosed psychiatric illness. also tonight, the secret calculations on the hand-written note found inside his hotel room. here's kenneth moton. >> reporter: tonight, the fbi back at the mesquite home of las vegas mass killer stephen paddock. authorities say the new search warrant executed after interviews with the gunman's girlfriend marilou danley. sources reveal investigators

here's abc's senior white house correspondent cecilia vega tonight. >> reporter: as president trump golfed today with republican senator lindsay graham, he remained uncharacteristically quiet about his very heated, very public feud with another senior member of his own party. tennessee senator bob corker unloading, telling "the new york times," president trump is so reckless the nation could be "on the path to world war iii." corker saying, "he would have to concern anyone who cares about our nation." and he says, quote, "i know for a fact that every single dale at the white house, it's a situation of trying to contain him." the attack came after a weekend the president claimed corker "begged" him for an endorsement and "didn't have the guts to run." corker, who is not seeking re-election, fired right back, saying, "the white house has become an adult day care center." a powerful voice in the senate, crucial for advancing the president's agenda on tax reform and iran. corker was even considered as a possible secretary of state or v.p. pick. but how far they've fallen. >> a great friend of

here's abc's senior white house correspondent cecilia vega. >> reporter: from the nation's most powerful gun lobby, today, a call for change in the wake of the nation's deadliest mass shooting. found on a dozen of the las vegas shooter's weapons, those bump stock attachments that allow a rifle to fire like a machine gun. the nra now says, "devices to designed to allow semiautomatic rifles to function like fully automatic rifles should be subject to additional regulations." and tonight, a growing number of top republicans say they would consider legislation banning bump stocks altogether. >> if this is a modification to a firearm that breaches the automatic weapons, then i think there would be bipartisan support to deal with it. >> clearly, that's something we need to look into. >> reporter: one florida republican congressman even vowing to introduce his own bill with a bump stock, assault rifles can fire hundreds of rounds per minute, changing a gun from this to this. but not all republicans are onboard with tougher laws. >> i don't think the 80 or 90 million americans who exercise their

a vote seems like a long way off. >> cecilia vega with us here in las vegas tonight. cecilia, thank you. >>> there was an extraordinary moment that played out here today, after an interview we brought you last night here. a son, who was at the concert for his 21st birthday, he was shot, and then saved by a young man who held pressure to his wounds all the way to the hospital, staying next to him in the e.r. he told us he wanted to meet that hero, and someone heard that last night. tonight here, the list of heroes, and what happened in that very same hospital room today. tonight, the new stories now emerging of the quiet heroes who saved so many lives here. mike kordich, a firefighter, was giving cpr to someone when he was shot in the arm. >> i kept doing chest compressions with one arm until i noticed i was starting to bleed a lot. >> reporter: nurse natalie vanderstay hit by a bullet and shrapnel. concert-goers driving her to the hospital, keeping pressure on her wounds. >> if it wasn't for that cab driver, i wouldn't be here, so -- and didn't know who he is. >> repo

cecilia, thanks, as always. >>> and we should mention, back on the las vegas massacre, that abc news and "20/20" will air a special documentary presentation tomorrow night, with new first on the heroism amid the tragedy. "what happened in vegas" airs tomorrow at 10:00 p.m. eastern. i'll see you then. we hope you watch, or set your dvr. that's tomorrow night. >>> in the meantime, overseas tonight, and the deadly ambush targeting american troops in the pentagon confirming three army green berets killed and two wounded during an attack by about 50 extremists near the mali border. they were on a joint patrol at the time. the americans part of a team assisting a counter-terrorism operation there. >>> back here at home tonight, and louisiana and florida declaring states of emergency tonight. preparing for a possible hurricane, headed straight for the u.s. the massive tropical storm, nate, already blamed for more than a dozen deaths in nicaragua and costa rica. as it makes its way toward the gulf tonight, the paths take it right up through the country, right into the northeast. so, let's ge

>> all right, so, let's get to cecilia vega live from the white house as well tonight. and cecilia, senator mccain was also asked today if he still talks with the president, if they have any relationship at all. how did he answer this? >> reporter: david, he said he has almost no relationship with president trump. but late today, he also tried to clarify those comments he made about bone spurs, he said, he was not taking a shot at this president, but you heard him today. he was not holding back. we have asked this white house for a comment, david, so far, no response. >> cecilia vega here on a monday night, as well. thank you. >>> we move onto other news this even, and to the killer on the loose in a florida neighborhood. three murders in ten days now. and blipolice are ask youing if your help in identifying this person, they want to talk to him. tonight, neighbors are being told to not go out alone. and abc's victor oquendo is in tampa. >> reporter: the manhunt for a possible serial killer intensifying tonight. >> whoever did this was able to sneak up on them and murde

the senate is expected to vote on this next week. >> cecilia vega with us tonight. thank you, cecilia. >>> we turn next now to the sudden release of a family kidnapped by the taliban. an american mother, her husband and her three young children. and we've just learned tonight that they are heading back. but not to the u.s. here's abc's chief investigative correspondent brian ross. >> reporter: they were america's littlest hostages, and tonight, they and their parents, american caitlan coleman and canadian joshua boyle, are free after five years of captivity. >> i am a prisoner of the taliban. >> reporter: coleman was seven months pregnant when she and her husband were kidnapped while on a hiking vacation in afghanistan. the taliban threatened to execute them. >> they are willing to kill us, willing to kill women, to kill children, to kill whomever. >> reporter: hostage videos over the years showed their plight worsening as she gave birth to three children. >> my children have seen their mother defiled. >> reporter: and the ordeal took its toll on her parents, lynda

>> cecilia vega leading us off from the white house. cecilia, thank you. >>> we turn next here to that controversial dossier prepared as opposition research on then candidate donald trump. alleging connections between the trump campaign and russia. it's believed that firm was first hired by a republican opponent, and then the hillary clinton campaign and the democratic national committee funded it from there. so, tonight, we now know who funded it, but some lawmakers say the bigger question remains, how much of it is true? here's abc's chief investigative correspondent brian ross. >> reporter: until now, hillary clinton and her campaign team would not admit any connection to the trump dossier. the 35-page document, prepared by a former british spy, alleges the trump campaign colluded with the russians, and includes uncorroborated, salacious allegations about trump himself. it didn't come out until well after the campaign ended. >> it's all fake news. it's phony stuff. it didn't happen. >> reporter: the dossier on trump was produced by a

here's abc's senior white house correspondent cecilia vega tonight. >> reporter: even in the face of mounting criticism, president trump today defended his claim that other presidents, including president obama, did not personally call the grieving families of fallen soldiers. the controversy ignited when president trump finally broke his silence over the deaths of four american special ops soldiers killed in niger. he was asked why, nearly two weeks after the deadly siege, he had yet to mention them or their families. >> i've written personal letters. they've been sent or they're going out tonight, but they were written during the weekend. >> reporter: but then, he said this -- >> the traditional way if you look at president obama and other presidents, most of them didn't make calls. a lot of them didn't make calls. i like to call when it's appropriate, when i think i'm able to do it. >> reporter: he tried to walk it back -- >> president obama i think probably did sometimes and maybe sometimes he didn't. i don't know. that's what i was told. all i can do is ask my generals. >> repor

abc's senior white house correspondent cecilia vega leading us off. >> reporter: this was john kelly, not just as chief of staff, but as a retired four-star general and a father, whose own son, robert, was killed in 2010, when he stepped on a landmine in afghanistan. kelly says he personally counseled president trump on how to call the grieving families of fallen soldiers. >> there's no perfect way to make that phone call. when i took this job and talked to president trump about how to do it, my first recommendation was he not do it, because it's not the phone call that parents, family members are looking forward to. it's nice to do, in my opinion, in any event. he asked me about previous presidents, and i said, i can tell you that president obama, who was my commander in chief when i was on active duty, did not call my family. that was not a criticism. that was just to simply say i don't believe president obama called. that's not a negative thing. >> reporter: kelly says he and president trump spoke before those calls to the families of the four special ops soldiers killed in niger.

here's abc7 news senior white house correspondent cecilia vega. >> reporte: myesha johnson was there to receive her husband's remains, their 6-year-old daughter by her side. johnson six months pregnant with her third child. just moments before this phone call from president trump. myesha johnson answered in the car and listening on speaker phone, congresswoman frederica wilson. >> i heard him say, well, i guess you know you knee what he was signing up for, but it still hurts. and i couldn't believe that he said that. >> reporter: wilson said the president never mentioned sergeant johnson by name. >> he kept referring to him as your guy. >> reporter: but today president trump disputed that. >> i had a very nice conversation with the woman, with the wife, who sounded like a lovely woman. did not say what the congresswoman said. >> reporter: and on twitter he said, democrat congresswoman totally fabricated what i said to the wife of a soldier who died in action. and i have proof. sad. >> what proof does president trump have when he says, congresswoman wilson is not telling the truth? ar

here's abc's senior white house correspondent cecilia vega, leading us off. >> reporter: at the white house today, with his character under fire from fellow republicans, president trump brushed aside questions about whether it's time for him to be more civil. >> well, i think the press makes me more uncivil than i am. people don't understand. i went to an ivy league college, i was a nice student, i did very well, i'm a very intelligence person. >> reporter: it comes in the wake of blistering attack from two prominent republican senators who are not running for election. tennessee's bob corker accuses president trump of debasing the country. and arizona's jeff flake delivered this scathing rebuke on the senate floor. >> reckless, outrageous and undignified behavior has become excused as telling it like it is. >> reporter: do you agree with that, do you bear any responsibility for that? >> well, i think it's sad, but i think to a large extent in all due respect, i think the media causes a lot of it, but politics is a rough business, there's no question about it. >> reporter: the preside

. >> and cecilia vega joining us live tonight from the white house. cecilia, stunning war of words playing out between the president and senator corker.re you hearing from his fellow republican senators tonight? >> reporter: well david, the senate is on recess but we did reach out to every m of republican leadership and other key voices senate. no one will touch this which least for now, many people, no one is disputing corker's claim that many ith his concerns about this president, david. >> cecilia vega live at the whnight, the white house was asked today, was it a stunt? the v49er ghe anthem. but was the pool re travels with the vice president told ahead of time not to head into the stadium, that the vice president would not be at the game for long? and how much did this stop in indiana cost the american taxpayer? abc's mary bruce tonight. >> reporter: tonight, the vice president is taking heat taking this stand. as players for the san francisco 49ers took a knee sunday to protest racial injustice, mike pence staged his own protest against them. ab

so, let's get right to cecilia vega, she's traveling with the president tonight. cecilia? >> reporter: hey, david. good evening to you. president trump says the typical american family will save $4,000, a pay raise he is calling this. and that's because he is claiming that this will come from cuts to the corporate tax rate. but this is a tax reform plan, i've got to say, with few details right now. some experts that have been looking over this plan say it's actually the top 1% of income earners who will earn and win the most out of this plan, and it will add trillions to the federal deficit. but you know, this is the administration's top priority, david. they are out here pushing hard. now president trump has to convince congress, because it is not just democrats who are skeptics, david. there are republican skeptics, too. >> all right, cecilia vega with us tonight. cecilia, thank you. >>> and there is still much more ahead on "world news tonight" this wednesday. the dramatic police shooting. the suspects on the run. the driver allegedly trying to run down an officer. poli

here's abc's senior white house correspondent cecilia vega. >> reporter: myeshia johnson was there receive her husband's remains. their 6-year-old daughter by her side. johnson, six months pregnant with their third child. as she wept over sergeant la david johnson's flag-draped coffin, she gave a last kiss. just moments before, that phone call from president trump. myeshia johnson answered in the car, and listening on speakerphone, her local congresswoman, democrat frederica wilson. >> i heard him say, "well, i guess you know he knew what he was signing up for, but it still hurts." and i couldn't believe that he said that. >> reporter: wilson says the president never mentioned sergeant johnson by name. >> he kept referring to him as your guy. he never called his name. so, that was even more painful. >> reporter: but today, president trump disputes that. >> i had a very nice conversation with the woman, with the wife, who sounded like a lovely woman. did not say what the congresswoman said and most people aren't too surprised to hear that. >> reporter: and on twitter, he said, "democrat con

and to this day, i've never had a drink. >> and cecilia vega joining us from the white house. and cecilia, it was deeply person, the president's story, but the white house is still facing tough questions tonight about whether the president's action today is an adequate response for a crisis of this magnitude. >> reporter: david, this comes at a time when the health secretary here was fired for questions over his use of private jets. the drug czar recently resigned no replacement has been named. and tonight, democrats are sounding the alarm about funding. nancy pelosi today said, show me the money. but david, as you know, the president, right there in that story, called this a winnable war. >> and of course, you checked back in with those families and we'll continue to do so on this crisis. cecilia, thank you. >>> we turn next here tonight to fast-moving developments in the search for a possible serial killer in tampa. three murders in ten days. and tonight, right here, new surveillance of that person of interest. one showing him running away from the direction of the first mur

let's go back to cecilia vega at the white house. we just heard from the president moments ago, and now we know he is visiting las vegas on wednesday. >> that's right, george. and pardon me. we have also learned he has ordered flags to fly at half staff at all federal buildings across the country, and that starts right here at the white house where the flag on the building is at half staff here. he wrapped up the brief comments public about four minutes long, where he said the shooting is an act of pure evil. take a listen. >> hundreds of our fellow citizens are now mourning the sudden loss of a loved one, a parent, a child, a brother or sister. we cannot fathom their pain. we cannot imagine their loss. to the families of the victims, we are praying for you, and we are here for you, and we ask god to help see you through this very dark period. >> reporter: the president says in moments of tragedy and horror like this, america comes together in times of chaos as the nation searches for meaning and answers in the midst of these questio

cecilia vega, abc news, the white house. >>> today marks the 28th anniversary of yet another disaster in the bay area, the 1989 loma prieta earthquake. this image right here sticks in a lot of people's minds. part of the bay bridge's old eastern span collapsed when the earthquake hit. massive fires broke out when gas mains ruptured in san francisco's marina district. that magnitude 6.9 quake was blamed for 63 deaths. >> we'll never forget that. >>> a historic catholic school is marking a new beginning. st. ann's school is just completing a massive earthquake retrofit. the school was nearly a century old. principal tom white said engineers literally worked from the ground up to protect it from future earthquakes. >> watching each step of the way with all the of the rebar, all of the concrete, tons and tons of concrete that went in was unbelievable to see how much work went into putting up one wall, but again, it was for the safety of the kids. that's what we're looking for, to make sure all of the work and effort that goes in there assures everybody's safety over time. >> in the 100 ye

abc's senior white house correspondent cecilia vega was in the oval office and asked the president to explain. >> reporter: in the white house state dining room, this is the image president trump summoned reporters to see. the president smiling, surrounded by his top military leaders and their spouses. then came the unsolicited, cryptic comment. >> do you know what this represents? the calm before the storm. >> reporter: what's the storm? >> could be, the calm, the calm before the storm. >> reporter: what storm, mr. president? >> we have have the world's great military people in this room. i will tell you that. we're going to have a great evening. thank you all for coming. >> reporter: what storm, mr. president? >> you'll find out. >> reporter: the oval office, we tried again. mr. president, what did you mean by calm before the storm yesterday? what did you mean by that? >> thank you very much. >> reporter: after a wink and a pause. >> you'll find out. >> reporter: the comment especially ominous as the united states is engaged in a war of words with north korea and the president is on

abc's cecilia vega is at the white house. good morning, cecilia. >> reporter: good morning to you, my friend. good to see you there in new york. ominous words, as you say, yet again, and despite all of these attempts to get the president to clarify exactly what he means, it seems president trump wants to keep the world in suspense. another day, another vague threat against north korea from president trump. this one as he was leaving the white house headed for an overnight fund-raiser in north carolina. asked what the one thing is that will work with pyongyang -- >> well, you'll figure that out pretty soon. >> reporter: a tweet earlier in the day not offering much clarification. the president writing, presidents and their administrations have been talking to north korea for 25 years. agreements made and massive amounts of money paid hasn't worked. agreements violated before the ink was dry making fools of u.s. negotiators. sorry, but only one thing will work. it follows last week's ominous message delivered while surrounded by

happy to have ace white house correspondent cecilia vega in again. she wrote on my script here i should say excellent -- you're not supposed to spill secrets. >> also, by the way, excited to have tony reali pinch-hitting for adrienne here. like how i used that sport term? >> yes. >> what sport is that from? >> that's from volleyball. >> let's stop exposing my lack of sports knowledge. >>> weather news. a rough day for the east coast. take a look at the map. storms from north to south. >> yeah, tropical storm philippe hitting florida. as we speak. this video. take a look. gives you the sense of just how power -- the power of the storm. a tree crashing down on cars. team coverage. rob is here tracking it all. and victor oquendo is on the ground in miami. let's start with you, rob. >> well, philippe, not very organized. not very strong. four reports of tornadoes across south florida. the center just south of miami. it's lopsided. much of the action now is out to sea. but, this is part of a bigger system that will create a mess across the northeast. trou

abc's cecilia vega pressing the president and his press secretary for clarity. >> mr. president, what did you mean by calm before the storm yesterday? what did you mean by that? >> reporter: with a wink and a pause. >> you'll find out. >> was he referring to military action when he said calm before the storm? >> we're never going to say in advance what the president is going to do. >> but how seriously should the american public or american adversaries for that matter take these comments? was it a joke? was it serious? >> i think you can take the president protecting the american people always extremely serious, and if he feels that action is necessary, he'll take it. >> reporter: but the president's intended message still unclear. meanwhile, this morning the white house facing a lawsuit. the aclu is suing the trump administration over its announcement to immediately roll back obama era contraception mandates that allow women access to birth control on the grounds of religious liberty. businesses, both large and small, can object to providing contraceptive services on