truly stunning, david. >> pierre thomas leading us off tonight. pierre, thank you. >>> and now to that major news on the pandemic. the cdc late today clearing the way now for millions of americans to get booster shots. the panel voting yes to americans 65 and older getting the pfizer booster six months after the second shot. and yes on boosters for adults 18 and older with medical conditions that put them at high risk for the virus. but voting no to boosters for people who have jobs that put them at high risk, front line workers, teachers among them. dr. jha standing by to break all of this down, what you need to know. how soon this begins. but first, abc's whit johnson tonight on the cdc decisions that came down late today. >> reporter: tonight, that decision from the cdc paving the way for millions more americans to start getting booster shots. >> yes, this motion passed. >> reporter: an advisory panel voting to recommend a third pfizer shot six months after a second dose to people 65 and older, long-term care residents, people 18 and older with

>> pierre thomas tonight. pierre, thank you. >>> we turn now to the earthquake in mexico tonight. strong aftershocks have now been reported. the powerful 7.0 magnitude quake hitting near acapulco. at least one person killed, buildings shaking. hundreds of thousands without power tonight. people running into the streets for safety. the quake was felt in mexico city more than 230 miles away. >>> to afghanistan tonight, and to the effort to resettle thousands of our afghan allies who fled the country and questions over children separated from their parents. secretary of state antony blink in touring the military base in rgermany where many refugees are simply waiting now for what comes next. our chief global affairs correspondent martha raddatz back with us tonight. and one of the many questions remaining, what will happen to the hundreds of unaccompanied afghan children who were evacuated by u.s. forces. >> reporter: well, david, we all saw those heartbreaking images of parents passing their children over razor wire to get them out of afghanistan and while many, including that baby,

>> all right, pierre thomas live in washington. pierre, thank you. >>> meantime, in louisiana tonight, hundreds of thousands are still without power and tonight, for some, there is now a desperate need for the basics. food, clean water and fuel. abc's chief national correspondent matt gutman on the ground again tonight. >> reporter: first came that storm bearing 150-mile-per-hour winds and destruction. and tonight, that new crisis, the scramble for the basic necessities of life. you see it in miles long lines for gas, in the lines to buy generators and on the faces of hurricane survivors. >> we just lost it all. we ain't got nowhere to live, and then, we ain't got no food. >> reporter: food, water, shelter and fuel all desperately scarce. >> there's nothing open all the way through baton rouge. we were lucky to find this. >> reporter: it's been four days since that hurricane slammed through here and still, all of this sludge brought in from the storm surge remains. folks are starting to clean up, but these streets are still canals.

thomas tonight, pierre, thank you. >>> there are new developments this evening involving a prominent south carolina attorney, alex murdaugh, return rendering to authorities accused of allegedly planning his own murder as part of a insurance fraud scheme. here's abc's eva pilgrim now. >> reporter: tonight, a once prominent south carolina lawyer's stunning fall from grace. >> all, rise. >> reporter: alex murdaugh turning himself in to accused of insurance fraud earlier today to face charges for staging his own murder nearly two weeks ago. a plan police say he hatched in order for his son to get a $10 million life insurance payout. >> if anyone wants to see the face of what opioid addiction does, you're looking at it. this is a horrible, horrible disease. >> reporter: murdaugh's alleged accomplice, former client curtis edward smith, also appearing in court on multiple charges including assisted suicide. murdaugh's life coming under scrutiny after the brutal unsolved murders of his wife, maggie, and 22-year-old son, paul, this past june. >> is he moving at all, your son? >> nobody -- the

martha raddatz and pierre thomas live from the pentagon and the justice department. >>> and the coronavirus tonight. president biden doubling down on his vaccine mandate that will affect up to 100 million americans, including federal workers, companies with 100 workers or more, and health care workers, too. rachel scott asking the president about republicans now threatening to sue. the president's response tonight. the u.s. now reporting about 140,000 new cases a day and more than 1,100 covid deaths every 24 hours. >>> and tonight, there is also major news from the cdc, the new studies on vaccine efficacy. which vaccine performs best at keeping people out of the hospital? and what the results could mean for boosters and when. dr. jha standing by to answer your questions tonight. >>> overseas, a second charter flight now leaving afghanistan. american citizens among the passengers. where things stand on getting the remaining americans out. >>> and the supreme court justice blasting the court's refusal to block that texas law banning most abortions in the state. what justice breyer says could

we're glad to welcome him back now along with martha raddatz, pierre thomas. charlie, i have to begin, take us back to those first moments when you were watching and telling the whole world what was going on. >> well, we were in a commercial break. stu schwartz our producer said something happened at the world trade center. we think a plane has hit the building. we don't know for sure. we have a traffic camera trained on the north tower. you're on the air. go. that's all the warning we had. diane and i -- diane sawyer and i were there. we were bewildered. we were bewildered just like everybody else. then, of course, the second plane came into frame and you just played the little bit after that. we knew at that point the united states was under atack. internalizing that, george, the hardest part -- first of all, i don't think i ever -- any of us ever imagined that a plane could be used as a weapon against a building and that later people would jump. it was just beyond my can and then that the buildings would p. each one of those was such a shock. it took so lon

>> our chief justice correspondent pierre thomas with us. thank you, pierre. >>> there are new images coming in tonight amid the surge of migrants at the border in texas. the governor there putting in place what he calls a steel barrier, a fleet of state-owned vehicles meant to send a message to migrants. and tonight, there is news on some border patrol agents seen in images the white house called horrific. abc's kenneth moton from texas tonight. >> reporter: tonight, this so-called "steel barrier" of vehicles, texas state troopers lining the del rio, texas, border, as federal authorities try to stop the migrant surge. today, are we seeing migrants crossing back and forth here in del rio? >> very minimum here -- very minimal here. >> reporter: a big difference here today compared to the weekend when we saw over 13,000 migrants in this encampment. as migrants leave, others taking their materials to fortify their shelters. still here, roughly 5,000 migrants, mostly haitian, mostly families with small children. the biden administration facing t

pierre thomas with late reporting. >>> the other major headline, late today, the cdc panel voting yes on pfizer boosters for adults 65 and older. and for anyone 18 and older at high risk for the disease. but tonight, the one part the

joining us is pierre thomas and christine brennan. good morning to you both. christine, you have covered this extensively from the beginning, but to have these young women, these elite athletes before congress telling the story, how they were ignored by the fbi was infuriating. >> they are american heroes. they will always be american heroes, and their story is so important even though much of this has been known. we have been talking about this, hearing from them and hearing about the absolute failure of the adults to help these young athletes who are all by the way young women, but winning olympic gold medals for the united states. the nation cheering for them, and we have been talking about this since 2015 or 2016, and full blown 2017, and 2018, but the impact statements in that courtroom, and here we are again. the reminder is essential. as i said, they are national treasures. thank goodness for them, but the suffering for them when they tell the story over and over again, how many more times do we have to hear this story before people listen and the adult

pierre thomas with late reporting. >>> the other major headline, the cdc voting yes on pfizer boosters for adults 65 and older. and for anyone 1 a8 and older a high risk for the disease. but tonight, the one part the

pierre thomas with late reporting. >>> the worsening crisis in louisiana. hundreds of thousands still without power. worries over food, clean water and

pierre thomas with late reporting. >>> the worsening crisis in louisiana.

pierre thomas, thanks very much. t.j.? >>> we turn to the always interesting mtv video music awards celebrating 40 years last night here in new york, olivia rodrigo, justin bieber won big but, will reeve, a surprise, surprise appearance by madonna herself. >> reporter: i mean, t.j., the vmas are always full of surprises. they're an institution. it's wise to expect the unexpected. its 40-year history has been defined by daring performances, risque fashion and shocking surprises. last night, with fans in the building once again, it was no different. the vmas celebrating 40 years with a surprise appearance from one of the channel's most iconic stars. >> and they said we wouldn't last. >> reporter: the material girl, madonna, leading off the celebration with a few superstar assists from other icons like j. lo. >> we're back here in new york. happy 40th birthday, mtv. tonight is your party. >> reporter: alicia keys. ♪ hear it for new york, new york ♪ ♪ new york ♪ >> reporter: busta rhymes. ♪ >> reporter: and the foo f

both foreign and domestic and pierre thomas has more on that. good morning, pierre. >> reporter: michael, good morning. here at the pentagon on this hallowed ground where american airlines flight 77 crashed into the building killing 59 people on board the plane and more than 100 inside defense headquarters they never forget. today and tomorrow there will be observances of that horrible day, a painful reminder of just how real the terror threat remains and we are in an extremely tense threat environment right now. while no specific threat has been identified for the 9/11 anniversary, the fbi is being forced to deal with both domestic and international four years the fbi has arrested 552 domestic terrorism suspects, many far right radicals including right supremacists. during that same time frame, the fbi arrested 386 international terrorism suspects, many inspired by isis and al qaeda and at any given moment the fbi is in various stages of investigating hundreds if not thousands of people in the u.s. suspected of terrorism. so the threat remains.

pierre thomas has the latest as the nation experiences a dramatic spike in gun violence. good morning, pierre. >> reporter: michael, good morning. today a manhunt in the stunned city of louisville. a tragic story of innocence lost children standing at a bus stop waiting to go to school, sprayed by gunfire. louisville grieving and angry this morning. >> i had to hold a little boy's wound today and tell him he's going to be okay. >> reporter: two children ages 14 and 16 shot at a bus stop as they waited to go to eastern high school. the 14-year-old recovering from nonlife-threatening injuries. the 16-year-old boy, tyrese smith, died. it all started just after 6:00 a.m. >> they can hear someone screaming, help me after the shots were fired. >> reporter: authorities believe it was a drive-by shooting. >> a vehicle drove by and fired shots into the group of kids striking two of the children by gunfire. >> reporter: police releasing this photo and this morning they're on the hunt for this gray jeep. tyree smith's devastated mother speaking out overnight. >> my child is 16 years

pierre thomas joins us with the latest. good morning, pierre. >> reporter: robin, good morning. that is right. that fence is likely going back up. it's all because of a rally scheduled for september 18th incident involving support for those arrested in the january 6th insurrection. some involved in the rally are calling those arrested political prisoners. there's growing concern about the potential for violence and worry that radical groups may show up to disrupt the event and capitol police say security will be tight with all available officers on duty. the heightened concerns come as the fbi released new video of a suspect wanted for planting potentially lethal pipe bombs at the dnc and rnc headquarters the night before the assault. a new camera angle shows the suspect sitting calmly on a bench outside the dnc. they're in search of new tips as the bomber was meticulous in concealing their identity wearing a mask, hat, glasses and gloves believed to be dangerous and they're still out there, michael. >> all right, pierre, thank you so much. >>> we're going to turn now to the ter