0:00

Tonight, several developing stories as we come

0:03

on the air, the pressure mounting on

0:05

President Biden as sources say he's keeping

0:07

an open mind about the future of

0:10

his campaign. Hurricane Beryl slams Jamaica as

0:12

a deadly category four and now on

0:14

a path that could reach Texas. First,

0:16

all eyes on President Biden. Sources

0:19

tell ABC News the president has privately

0:21

acknowledged the next few days will be

0:24

critical in his campaign, meeting with top

0:26

Democrats, including the vice president. Tonight with

0:28

some of the nation's Democratic governors,

0:30

the White House insists Biden is

0:33

staying in the race. Selena

0:35

Wang with late reporting. Our

0:37

other major headline, Hurricane Beryl slams Jamaica.

0:39

The already deadly storm, the first major

0:42

hurricane to hit the island in more

0:44

than 15 years. We

0:46

hear from some Americans stuck there forced

0:49

to ride out the storm. And Beryl

0:51

could be a hurricane as it approaches

0:53

Texas this weekend. Faith Aboube from Jamaica,

0:56

our weather team timing it all out.

0:58

Raging wildfires threaten communities in the West.

1:00

A fast moving blaze forcing nearly 30,000 from

1:04

their homes north of Sacramento. More

1:06

than 1,400 firefighters battling the flames as

1:08

oppressive heat grips much of the country.

1:12

150 million Americans in 22 states under

1:14

heat alerts. The Fourth of

1:17

July travel rush kicks into high gear with

1:19

millions on the move. News of a

1:21

Delta flight forced to divert to JFK. Passengers

1:24

and crews served spoiled food.

1:27

Percease tonight, Israel assassinating one of

1:29

the highest ranking Hezbollah commanders in

1:31

Lebanon, igniting fears of a larger

1:34

war, Matt Gutman from Tel Aviv.

1:37

Amid the tensions abroad, law enforcement is

1:39

on high alert ahead of the July

1:41

4th holiday, police putting more officers on

1:43

patrol than ever before. A

1:46

tourist from New Zealand killed in what

1:48

California authorities are calling a robbery gone

1:50

bad. And America strong tonight,

1:52

the Civil War heroes who gave their

1:54

lives to save the union finally receiving

1:57

the country's highest honor. from

2:02

ABC News World Headquarters in New

2:04

York. This is World

2:06

News Tonight with David

2:08

Mueller. Good evening, thanks

2:10

for joining us on this Wednesday

2:13

night. I'm Whit Johnson in for

2:15

David. We are tracking Hurricane Beryl

2:17

and the new path possibly targeting

2:19

the Texas coasts. But we begin

2:21

tonight with President Biden sending new

2:23

signals about the future of his

2:25

campaign amid calls to drop out

2:27

of the race against Donald Trump.

2:29

Tonight, the president meeting with Democratic

2:31

governors from across the U.S. trying

2:33

to ease concerns about his ability

2:36

to lead, shore up support for

2:38

his campaign, and gauge where they

2:40

stand. Sources telling ABC News the

2:42

president has privately admitted the coming

2:44

days are critical. The White House

2:46

today insisting President Biden is absolutely

2:48

not dropping out of the race.

2:50

Sources also say the president and

2:52

vice president, Kamala Harris, called into

2:54

an all-staff campaign meeting to offer

2:56

a pep talk. President Biden speaking

2:58

with top Democrats for the first

3:01

time since the debate, including Senate

3:03

Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, former House

3:05

Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and longtime ally

3:07

Congressman Jim Clyburn. The president will

3:09

sit down with George Stephanopoulos on

3:11

Friday for his first interview since

3:13

that debate performance ignited the firestorm

3:15

now consuming his campaign. ABC's Selena

3:17

Wang leads us off at the

3:19

White House. Tonight,

3:22

the first sign President Biden may

3:24

be reconsidering the future of his

3:27

campaign. Sources tell ABC News the

3:29

president has privately acknowledged that the next few

3:31

days will be critical, that he has told

3:33

at least two people close to him he

3:36

knows he's in a tough spot. Sources

3:38

familiar with his conversation say the

3:40

president told one ally that though

3:42

he still views himself as the

3:45

best candidate to defeat Donald Trump,

3:47

he's keeping, quote, an open mind

3:49

about the path forward. Still today,

3:51

the White House press secretary insisting

3:53

the president is absolutely not dropping

3:55

out. Is the president clear-eyed about

3:57

what it takes to stay? in

3:59

the race and what

4:02

it would take for him to drop out. The

4:04

president is clear eyed and he is

4:06

staying in the race. I don't have

4:08

anything else beyond that. He is staying,

4:10

he's staying in the race. Today the

4:12

president joining an all staff campaign call

4:15

telling them I'm in this race to

4:17

the end and we're going to win.

4:19

He spent the last few days largely

4:21

out of sight holding few events and

4:23

reading off of a teleprompter. His aides

4:25

have blamed his poor debate performance on

4:27

a cold. But overnight the president offering

4:29

a new explanation saying he wasn't very

4:31

smart for taking two trips to Europe

4:33

before his face off with Trump. This

4:35

even though he returned to the US

4:37

12 days before the debate. There's

4:40

a cold, there's a jet

4:42

lag. You combine that. He

4:44

continues to work on the for the American people

4:47

day in and day out around the clock. Things

4:49

happen. Things happen. The

4:52

White House says the president is quote

4:54

as sharp as ever but tonight a

4:56

second Democrat in Congress calling on Biden

4:58

to drop out. Congressman Raul Grijalva of

5:00

Battleground Arizona telling the New York Times

5:03

if he's the candidate I'm going to

5:05

support him but I think that this

5:07

is an opportunity to look elsewhere. What

5:09

he needs to do is shoulder the

5:11

responsibility for keeping that seat and part

5:14

of that responsibility is to get out

5:16

of this race. Other House Democrats are

5:18

frustrated saying they need more answers from

5:20

Biden and his team. Most Democratic leaders

5:22

are situated in the same way the

5:24

American people are which is give us

5:27

that reassurance, give us that confidence and

5:29

to do that this campaign is going

5:31

to have to this White House is

5:33

going to have to be way less

5:35

insular than they have been. For the

5:38

first time since the debate the president

5:40

has started reaching out to top Democrats

5:42

on Capitol Hill over the past 24

5:44

hours speaking with the Senate and House

5:46

Democratic leaders Chuck Schumer and Hakeem Jeffries

5:48

as well as his close allies Delaware

5:51

senator Chris Coons and South Carolina congressman

5:54

and tonight Biden holding a meeting with more than 15

5:57

Democratic governors to discuss the aftermath.

5:59

of the debate. I think the

6:01

the governors just want a direct

6:04

and candid conversation with

6:06

the with the president. We want to make

6:08

sure he's doing okay. We all know him.

6:10

Selena Wang joining us now from the White

6:12

House and Selena the Biden campaign on damage

6:14

control now as sources say the president knows

6:17

just how critical these next few days will

6:19

be. Exactly what the president is trying to

6:21

reassure his allies and donors but they're closely

6:23

watching new polls that show Trump's lead widening

6:25

over the president's after that debate. A New

6:27

York Times poll out tonight shows that Trump

6:29

is now six points ahead of Biden among

6:32

likely voters now 49 to 43 percent. That

6:34

poll also shows 74 percent of voters think

6:39

Biden is too old for the

6:41

job with. Selena thank you and

6:43

that ABC News exclusive interview with

6:45

President Biden takes place on Friday

6:47

his first since the debate. George

6:49

Stephanopoulos one-on-one with the president the

6:51

entire interview will air Friday night

6:53

at 8 p.m. Eastern right here

6:55

on ABC. We move

6:58

on now to Hurricane Barrel slamming Jamaica

7:00

the deadly category 4 storm with winds

7:02

up to 140 miles

7:05

per hour the latest track showing

7:07

the system marching across the Caribbean

7:09

on its way towards the Gulf

7:11

possibly hitting the Texas coast as

7:13

a category one storm the images

7:15

just coming in from Jamaica officials

7:17

declaring a state of emergency hours

7:19

before impact the storm already blamed

7:22

for several deaths now targeting the

7:24

Cayman Islands ABC's Faith of Bubay

7:26

is in Jamaica. Tonight

7:29

hurricane barrel is pounding Jamaica with life

7:31

threatening storm surge the category four storm

7:33

the most powerful to hit the island

7:36

in more than 15 years

7:38

already knocking out power and flooding roads

7:40

here in Montego Bay the winds are

7:43

getting more intense the waves and rear

7:45

as the storm barrels towards us many

7:49

Americans here are writing out the storm

7:51

in hotels and vacation rentals. We

7:53

start blowing a little bit harder now that

7:56

power lines article a couple of times

7:58

Christopher and Michelle or hunkered down with

8:00

their kids and parents in the ballroom

8:03

of their hotel, the staff making the

8:05

best of it. They're still serving

8:07

us, even though their country's about to

8:09

be devastated, they're still here worried about

8:11

us. We're still a little scared. Barrow

8:14

has so far claimed at least seven lives

8:16

as it sweeps across the Caribbean. The

8:20

island of Kiryakou in Grenada flattened in

8:22

just a half an hour, before and

8:24

after satellite images revealing the scale of

8:27

the destruction. Their roofs are flying

8:29

past, you could see it passing.

8:31

It was just a

8:33

terrifying experience. And for the first

8:35

time, we're seeing the destruction up close

8:37

on Union Island, where 90% of the

8:39

homes were leveled. Aid workers now racing

8:41

to bring in food. As you can

8:43

see behind me, there's lots

8:46

of destruction. There's no electricity, power,

8:48

water. Among

8:50

the dead, three people in Venezuela,

8:52

after heavy rains from Barrow, turned

8:54

roads into rivers of mud. And

8:57

we're still feeling the impact of Hurricane

8:59

Barrow. Over the last several hours, the

9:01

winds have intensified, the rain also pouring

9:03

in in just the last few minutes,

9:05

a transformer blew just down the hill there.

9:08

Forecasters say the outer bands of the

9:10

hurricane should continue lashing the island into

9:12

the evening hours. Officials will have to

9:15

wait until conditions improve to assess the

9:17

damage. Now we can see

9:19

those worsening conditions behind you. Faith Aboube, thank

9:21

you. You and the team stay safe. Let's

9:23

get right to meteorologist Brittany Bell from our

9:26

New York station, WABC. And Brittany, this hurricane

9:28

could also threaten the US Gulf Coast. That's

9:31

right, Whit. It could impact South Texas

9:33

late Sunday into early Monday, potentially as

9:35

a tropical storm or a

9:37

category one hurricane. Right now, it is

9:39

slamming Jamaica as a category four hurricane,

9:42

with maximum sustained winds around 140 miles

9:44

per hour. The

9:46

eyewall, the most dangerous part of this

9:48

hurricane, riding right along the coast. This

9:50

is where it's going next. Approaching the

9:52

Cayman Islands late tonight, early tomorrow, and

9:55

then taking aim at the Yucatan Peninsula

9:57

Friday morning. This weekend, that pushes into

9:59

the sun. southern Gulf of Mexico at

10:01

this point it could re-intentify to a

10:03

category one hurricane as that approaches eastern

10:06

Mexico and south Texas at this point

10:08

that could bring impacts like storm surge,

10:10

gusty winds, also heavy rainfall. Out west

10:12

a concern, a historic heat wave. We

10:15

have heat alert stretching from Washington state

10:17

all the way down towards Arizona. Multiple

10:20

record highs are in jeopardy. Sacramento 110 on Saturday.

10:23

Las Vegas could approach a

10:25

all-time record high on Sunday. The forecast 117,

10:27

the forecast rather 118, the previous record 117

10:30

degrees. All

10:34

right Brittany Bell, it's great to have you. We

10:36

appreciate it. And with that

10:38

dangerous heat, wildfires continue to rage in

10:40

northern California. Nearly 30,000 people

10:43

in the city of Orville forced

10:45

to evacuate. The Thompson fire destroying

10:47

homes and structures in its path.

10:49

Several firefighters injured while battling the

10:51

flames. ABC's Mola Lengi is in

10:54

California. Tonight the

10:56

quick-moving Thompson fire near Orville

10:58

raging in northern California. More

11:01

than 3,500 acres scorched so far with

11:03

zero percent containment. We just bought our

11:05

house in Kelly Ridge so fingers crossed

11:07

that everything will be there when this

11:10

is over. Cars, homes

11:12

and structures reduced to rubble. The

11:14

inferno forcing nearly 30,000 residents

11:17

from their homes. As more

11:19

than 1,400 personnel worked around the

11:21

clock to extinguish the flames. That

11:24

massive blaze fueled by dry,

11:26

windy conditions coupled with a

11:28

crippling heat wave. At least

11:30

eight firefighters suffering heat-related injuries.

11:33

It comes as dangerously high temperatures

11:35

tighten their grip on the west.

11:38

That heat taking the life of a 10-year-old

11:40

boy in Phoenix on Tuesday after he had

11:43

to be airlifted off a hiking trail. Temperatures

11:46

that day soaring to 110 degrees. It

11:49

is deadly. The

11:51

heat in Phoenix hit

11:53

me in a different kind of way

11:55

than anywhere else. With that extreme heat

11:57

now triggering some alerts, including here in

11:59

the LA area. those dry gussy winds

12:01

now helping spread this brush fire in

12:04

Simi Valley about an hour from where

12:06

we are here. Firefighters racing to put

12:08

out those flames some homes there now

12:10

under evacuation orders and some structures are

12:12

also being threatened with. All right, mola

12:14

langie for us. Thank you now

12:16

to the record holiday travel underway

12:18

for the long July 4th weekend

12:20

and for some passengers their trip

12:22

is off to a rocky start

12:24

a Delta flight from Detroit to

12:26

Amsterdam diverted to JFK after passengers

12:29

and crew were served spoiled food.

12:31

Here's a because Trevor alt. Tonight

12:33

with tens of millions of Americans taking

12:36

to the roads and skies this holiday

12:38

weekend, a medical emergency on board a

12:40

Delta flight from Detroit to Amsterdam forcing

12:43

the plane to divert to New York

12:45

after passengers were served spoiled food. 2

12:51

dozen passengers and crew checked out by

12:53

paramedics on the ground Delta tonight saying

12:55

they're working to find out how this

12:57

happened. Shahzad Javid telling us the issue

13:00

stem from bad chicken. I about I

13:02

go ahead and start eating didn't taste

13:04

right in takes fun. And

13:06

it's not a bad season and it's almost

13:09

it's kind of that work. That incident comes

13:11

in the middle of one of the busiest

13:13

travel surges ever with 70 million people expected

13:15

to be on the move to celebrate the

13:17

4th. We just plan ahead as

13:19

far as like getting into the airport way

13:21

ahead of time. And with the

13:23

TSA is forecasting the screen 3 million people

13:25

Sunday alone which would be a new record

13:28

and of course the vast majority of travelers

13:30

are driving 60 million people hitting

13:32

the road through the holiday stretch with the

13:34

worst traffic expected Saturday and Sunday with all

13:36

right, Trevor all thanks so much. Now

13:39

to rising tensions in the Middle East

13:41

Israel launching an airstrike killing a senior

13:43

Hezbollah leader in southern Lebanon, the Iran

13:46

back group then firing more than 100

13:48

rockets towards Israel in response

13:50

concern again growing about violence escalating

13:53

in the region. It was his

13:55

Matt Gutman is in Tel Aviv.

13:57

Tonight Israel, assassinating one of the highest

14:00

rate. making Hezbollah commanders in Lebanon, inching

14:02

Israel and the powerful Iranian-backed militia even

14:04

closer to an all-out war. Mohammed Nima

14:07

Nasser was killed in an apparent drone

14:09

strike in southern Lebanon, and Hezbollah launching

14:11

over 100 rockets at Israel in response.

14:13

It comes as Hezbollah and Israeli officials

14:16

have traded threats of annihilation in recent

14:18

weeks, but Israel and US sources telling

14:20

ABC News both Hezbollah and Israel have

14:23

essentially agreed to broad parameters of a

14:25

US broker deal that would stave off

14:27

a war. An agreement Hezbollah said it

14:29

cannot sign until there is a ceasefire

14:32

in Gaza. But in Gaza,

14:34

no signs of a truce, Israel is in

14:36

its sixth day of a raid in the

14:38

north, the fighting visible from nearby Israeli villages.

14:41

We can hear the small arms fire now

14:43

taking place in Shejahiyah. There is a battle

14:45

going on in there. And in the southern

14:47

part of the Gaza Strip, the IDF ordering

14:50

mass evacuations in the eastern part of Khan

14:52

Yunus, an estimated 250,000 Gazans impacted, women

14:56

and children seem piled into carts,

14:58

many sleeping in the streets. Asma

15:02

had breaking down from the fear and

15:04

uncertainty, saying, I don't think it

15:06

will remain safe. We have been displaced

15:08

multiple times. With the ceasefire talks are

15:10

creaking ahead. One of the main sticking

15:12

points, as we understand it, is that

15:14

Hamas wants a full withdrawal of Israeli

15:16

troops, but an Israeli official telling me

15:18

today that they intend to hold parts

15:20

of the Gaza Strip for months with.

15:22

All right, Matt Gutman, thank you. Meantime,

15:25

back here at home, authorities across the US

15:27

are on high alert as millions of Americans

15:29

prepare to celebrate the 4th of July. Homeland

15:32

Security and the FBI out with a

15:34

new warning for the holiday. Let's get

15:36

right to ABC's Aaron Katerski here in

15:39

New York. Aaron officials say some of

15:41

the nation's largest celebrations could be attractive

15:43

targets. They do, Whit, and that reflects

15:45

concerns about those two wars raging overseas

15:47

and a bitter political climate here at

15:49

home. So police here in New York

15:51

said today they'd be putting more officers

15:53

on July 4th patrol than ever before.

15:56

Officers will be patrolling with drones in

15:58

the sky, boats in the water. It

16:00

is a complicated threat picture police are

16:03

looking at with concerns about loan offenders

16:05

turning to violence to make a point

16:07

Arise and hate crimes against Jews and

16:09

online content that seems to amplify all

16:11

of it But with no specific threat

16:13

with millions of people will be turning

16:16

skyward here in New York with Erin

16:18

K Mm Thank you When

16:21

we come back a robbery gone wrong in

16:23

Newport Beach claims the life of a tourist

16:25

from New Zealand and the new warning after

16:27

Illegal fireworks spark a brush fire in California

16:33

Next night a tourist from New Zealand

16:35

is dead and what authorities say was

16:37

a botched robbery at California's popular Newport

16:39

Beach shopping Districts three suspects arrested police

16:41

say there was a struggle during the

16:44

robbery attempt and the victim was hit

16:46

by the suspect's car When they attempted

16:48

to flee police say shots were fired,

16:50

but no one else was hurt When

16:53

we come back the new warning about the

16:55

dangers of illegal fireworks ahead of the 4th

16:57

of July holiday You're

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a podcast listener and this is a

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calm now, that's Libs yn

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ads calm To

17:24

the index now ahead of the holiday

17:26

tomorrow officials in San Francisco are warning

17:28

of the dangers of illegal fireworks These

17:31

images here released by the city's fire

17:33

department show fireworks igniting a brush fire

17:35

the blaze rapidly growing to three acres

17:38

Illustrating just how fast a fire can

17:40

spread in dry conditions and

17:43

it's official LeBron James will remain a Laker

17:46

sources tell ESPN James agreed to

17:48

a two-year 104

17:50

million dollar contract that includes a

17:52

no trade clause James looking

17:54

forward to playing with his oldest son brawny

17:57

drafted last week by the Lakers. It'll be

17:59

the first father-son active duo

18:01

in the NBA. When

18:03

we come back, two long overlooked heroes

18:06

from the Civil War honored for their

18:08

bravery and sacrifice. Finally

18:12

tonight, America strong honoring the Civil

18:15

War heroes who made the ultimate

18:17

sacrifice to end slavery and save

18:19

the Union. On the eve of

18:21

Independence Day, President Biden posthumously awarding

18:23

the families of two Civil War

18:26

heroes the Medal of Honor 162

18:29

years later. Private Philip G. Shadrach

18:31

and Private George D. Wilson were

18:33

part of one of the most

18:35

daring raids of the Civil War.

18:37

By stealing a train in Georgia,

18:39

the Union soldiers tried to destroy

18:41

Confederate railroad tracks and telegraph lines

18:43

as they headed north. An

18:46

adaptation of the story featured in the 1956

18:49

Disney film, The Great Locomotive Chase,

18:51

but the ambitious plot failed. Wilson

18:53

and Shadrach were among those captured,

18:56

then tried and hanged by the

18:58

Confederacy. While 19 other

19:00

men earned medals of honor, Shadrach

19:02

and Wilson had been overlooked for

19:04

more than a century, until today.

19:06

Today, we right that wrong.

19:09

Today, they finally received the

19:11

recognition they deserve. Private

19:14

Philip Shadrach's great-great-nephew, Gerald Taylor.

19:16

We've worked so hard to

19:18

prove that he was one

19:21

of them and he should

19:23

be recognized. And Private George

19:25

Wilson's great-great-granddaughter, Teresa Chandler, reflecting

19:27

on this poignant moment. So

19:29

honored to receive that medal.

19:32

That it's somewhat tangible that he

19:34

never got to touch it or receive

19:37

it, but it's kind of like we're

19:39

feeling it from beyond that he's there.

19:41

That's special honor, long overdue. I'm

19:43

with Johnson in New York. Good night.