ABC World News Tonight with David Muir Full Broadcast - May 27, 2026

David Muir, ABC's World News Tonight, America's most -watched newscast.Now streaming same day with all the breaking news of the day on Disney+.Most -watched, most -trusted.Now on Disney +, every night.

Tonight, breaking news.The death toll rising.The grim search at this hour for nine workers missing and presumed dead following a horrific chemical accident at a pulp and paper mill.And another worker critically injured, dying today at the hospital.Images showing the extent of the damage to the facility.Also tonight, the war in Iran colliding with the midterm elections.

President Trump claiming he doesn't care about the midterms when it comes to ending the war and reopening the Strait of Hormuz.The president claiming Iran is negotiating on severe storms across multiple states, dangerous thunderstorms and flash flood alerts from Texas to Virginia.Lee Goldberg timing it out.Dramatic new images.The race against time to rescue five minors found trapped inside a treacherous and flooded cave for a week, two still missing.New evidence in the disturbing cruise ship murder.

The 18 -year -old girl allegedly killed by her stepbrother, what prosecutors have now revealed.Friends star Matthew Perry's assistant, sentenced to years in prison for injecting him with the ketamine that led to his death.The Trump administration's push to keep the Ebola outbreak from reaching the U .S.Secretary of State Mark Marco Rubio insisting no Ebola cases will be allowed into the country, including infected American citizens.Tonight, the NFL star arrested the serious allegations made against him, what prosecutors are now saying.

The startling moment a sea lion jumps onto a canoe during a race across the bay.And America strong tonight.

I -N -A -L, vaticinal?That is correct.

The tension, the stress, the triumph as the script's spelling bee gets underway.

From ABC News, World Headquarters in New York.this is World News Tonight with David Muir.

Good evening.I'm with Johnson.David is on assignment traveling the country for America's 250th.More on that in the coming days.But we do begin with breaking news.The deadly chemical accident at that pulp and paper mill in Longview, Washington State.

The death toll rising at this hour.Emergency crews are conducting a grim search for nine workers missing and presumed dead after a massive chemical tank ruptured more than 24 hours ago.At least two workers now confirmed dead.Multiple victims remain hospitalized.Video shows extensive damage to the facility.Vehicles crushed and flipped upside down, suggesting the incredible power of the blast.

The search suspended for a time because of the ongoing danger at the plant.ABC's Melissa Adan is at the scene with late details just coming in.

Tonight, the death toll rising after a devastating industrial accident at a paper mill in Longview, Washington.

We're bracing ourselves for this being the deadliest industrial tragedy in modern Washington State history.

Drone video shows the damage from above.The tank crumpled, vehicles flipped and crushed.Today, authorities confirmed the nine missing are presumed dead, and one of the critically injured died today at the hospital.

Recovery efforts began earlier today, and they'll continue to be slow, methodical.and deliberate.The priority is ensuring responder safety while treating every victim with the greatest dignity, care and respect as possible.

The 900 ,000 gallon tank at the Nippon DynaWave packaging company was filled with deadly chemicals used to make paper when it ruptured early Tuesday.Overnight, a vigil as this tight -knit community held each other and cried.Families waited for word.

I can't answer for how these families are feeling, but I can say that just from my grief, that what they're feeling is the most important.-riching, gut -riching pain that anyone could ever experience.

The first victim identified Gilbert Bernal, a father and grandfather.Daughter Giovanna, writing, my heart is shattered knowing that their time was cut short, but my son will always know how incredible his grandpa was.He truly was a one of a kind.with the EPA is here on the ground in Longview investigating the potential impacts to the air and water quality.This as the National Guard has been activated and a federal investigation is underway as this recovery effort.painfully continues.

And still a difficult wait for those families.Melissa, Don, we appreciate it.Now to the war in Iran and the midterm elections.After a big primary victory in Texas, President Trump meeting with cabinet members at the White House, claiming he doesn't care about the midterms when it comes to Iran and the Strait of Hormuz.The president says Iran is negotiating on fumes.ABC's Rachel Scott at the White House tonight.

Tonight, the U .S.launching new strikes on Iran, targeting a military site and Iranian drones that were threatening U .S.forces near the Strait of Hormuz.

Last night was incredible.

It comes just hours after President Trump, fresh off a string of Republican primary victories, insisted November's midterm election will not have any impact on his strategy to end the war in Iran.

They thought they were gonna outweigh me, you know, we'll outweigh him, he's got the midterms, I don't care about the midterms, look what happened last night, that was, The prelude to the midterms, people understand it.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton easily defeating four -term Senator John Cornyn in the GOP runoff after securing a last -minute endorsement from President Trump.

President Trump is the leader of our party, and his endorsement is the most powerful force in politics.

It's the latest example of the president using his power and influence to oust incumbents who have been critical of him, from Thomas Massie in Kentucky to Bill Cassidy in Louisiana.But polls show Americans are growing increasingly dissatisfied with the economy.Gas prices now $4 .42, up $1 .48 since the war began, hitting a four -year high over Memorial Day weekend.At a Cabinet meeting today, the president telling me those prices will come down when the war ends, but he's not in a hurry.You've said that you're in no rush to make a deal, but with gas prices that are so high across the country, people are paying more for travel.Does that give you more urgency to make a deal?

Why doesn't it?Well, I'll tell you the primary urgency, and I said this, it wasn't covered properly, but the primary urgency is that we can't let Iran have a nuclear weapon.But at the same time, we have a tremendous amount of oil, gas, coal.

President Trump insists Iran is negotiating on fumes, rejecting the regime's demands to take control over the Strait of Hormuz in coordination with Oman, the president even threatening that key U .S.ally in the Middle East.Would you accept a short -term deal that allows Iran and Oman to control the Strait?

No, the Strait's going to be open to everybody.And who would control it?It's international waters.Nobody's going to control it.We're going to watch over it.We'll watch over it.

But nobody's going to control it.And Oman will behave just like everybody else, or we'll have to blow them up.They understand that.They'll be fine.

And Whit, tonight, the Senate's top Republican saying the party needs to prove that it can focus on two things, the war in Iran, but also the economic issues that he believes will be front and center in this midterm election.

Whit?OK, Rachel Scott at the White House tonight.Turning now to the CDC push to screen travelers arriving at three U .S.airports from Ebola -infected countries.New York's JFK now added to that list.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio insisting no Ebola cases will be allowed into the country, including infected American citizens.Here's ABC's Faith Abubay.

Tonight, the Trump administration vowing to keep the Ebola outbreak now ravaging parts of Central Africa away from the United States.

We cannot and will not allow any cases of Ebola to enter the United States.

The White House saying Americans exposed to the virus in the DRC will be sent to a health facility in Kenya for monitoring instead of being flown back to the US.But the Union for the U .S.Foreign Service pushing back, calling the decision a stark departure from prior outbreaks where Americans were repatriated and monitored at specialized U .S.treatment facilities.

Starting tomorrow, New York's JFK Airport will become only the fourth entry point for Americans flying home from the Ebola hot zone.Meantime, doctors at the epicenter of the outbreak sounding the alarm as the death toll rises.

What we are facing here, the outbreak is out of control.

and where US officials expect the facility in Kenya to be ready in about a week.They say it's a shorter transfer with fewer risks.

Faith Abubay, our thanks to you.We move on now to severe storms across multiple states.Dangerous thunderstorms and flash flood alerts from Texas to Virginia.Sheets of rain coming down in south central Texas.Drivers trying to navigate the blinding downpours.Heavy rain and strong winds in Douglas, Georgia as well.

Lawn furniture and children's toys you can see blown across the yard.Let's get right to ABC's senior meteorologist Lee Goldberg and Lee, the rain expected to last through the weekend.

Unfortunately, with a front winding its way through the South, multiple rounds of rain expected.In the meantime, a few trouble spots to tell you about.First, we've been tracking storms all day from Charleston, West Virginia to Virginia Beach.Severe storms closing in on Richmond right now.A watch goes through nine o 'clock tonight, damaging winds that concern.To the flash flood threat, two pockets, Ohio Valley and the Gulf Coast.

Rainfall rates one to two inches an hour.Watches go through late tonight.The active pattern stays in the South through the weekend.Two to four inches of rain widespread from Kansas to Florida.Needed rain, but a wet start to summer in the South.

Witt?All right, Lee, thank you for that.Overseas tonight, dramatic new images.The race against time to rescue five minors found trapped inside a treacherous and flooded cave for a week.Two other minors still missing.Here's ABC's Britt Clennett.

Tonight, the emotional moment a pair of rescue divers in Laos found five of seven minors alive in a cave after they were trapped by floods and landslides more than a week ago.The gold miners telling one of those divers they are hungry and tired but not injured.Rescuers outside the cave celebrating the news.But it is a race against time now to find a way to get the five miners out and find two more who are missing.

So if the water rail coming up, we are gonna down.

Those divers forced to squeeze through some of the narrowest tunnels they've ever seen.Just 20 by 20 inches carrying oxygen tanks and supplies.Today they left the trapped group with power gel, electrolytes and water.These rescuers are part of the same team who in 2018 rescued youth soccer players from a cave in Thailand after 18 days as the world watched and waited.Tonight, they're warning the mission to save these miners may be even more complicated.And with the rescue diver we spoke to, he told us that these miners appeared calm, but warned this complex operation, it could take days.

And as you noted, race against time.Brick Klenet, thank you.New evidence tonight in the disturbing cruise ship murder.An 18 -year -old girl allegedly killed by her stepbrother, her body found under a bedin the cabin, hidden by blankets and life jackets.What prosecutors have now revealed.

Here's ABC's Victor Okendo.

Today, the Florida teenager charged with sexually assaulting and killing his 18 -year -old stepsister on a carnival cruise, appearing in court.A federal judge ruling Timothy Hudson, now 16 years old, can remain with family ahead of his trial for the murder of Anna Kepner.It comes as we get a more detailed picture of what prosecutors say happened that night on the cruise last November.Anna and her stepbrother were both in their state room starting around 7 .40 p .m., according to newly unsealed documents.

Prosecutors say CCTV shows Timothy leaving at 10 p .m., looking left and right down the hallway, appearing to check if there was anyone in the hallway.The video then allegedly shows a third sibling trying to get back into the room they shared after midnight, but Timothy makes him wait before allowing him in.Prosecutors adding Anna's body was found the next day.It appeared that someone had tried to hide her again by partially putting her underneath the bed.

I sat down with Anna's grandparents shortly after her death, who told me she was close with her stepbrother.

He was a good student.He played soccer.He played soccer.Very quiet young man.He had demons, I think, in his past.

And he was trying to deal with those.Timothy Hudson has pleaded not guilty.Tonight, and his dad tells ABC News, I want him in custody.I want him to be held accountable and face justice.

OK, Victor Oquendo, thank you very much.Now to Friends star Matthew Perry's former assistant, sentenced to more than three years in prison.His offenses include injecting Perry with a fatal dose of ketamine in 2023.ABC's Trevor Ault is in Los Angeles.And Trevor, this was the last defendant in this case.

That's right, when Matthew Perry's family says his live -in assistant bit him.him.Kenneth Iwamasa now sentenced to about three and a half years in prison.Prosecutors say he frequently obtained and injected Perry with ketamine, including three lethal doses the day the Friends star died.Now, Iwamasa pleaded guilty to distribution of ketamine, and he was a key witness in the case.But that was only after prosecutors say he first lied about the injections and tampered with evidence, including changing Perry's passwords after his death.

mother wrote to the judge, we trusted a man without a conscience and my son paid the price.

All right, Trevor, I'll thank you for that.Next tonight, a new investigation underway involving poly market and alleged insider trading of information.A Google engineer is accused of making more than $1 million by placing bets on what users were searching for on Google confidential data he had access to.It's just the latest in a growing number of similar cases.Here's ABC's chief investigative correspondent, Eric Aaron Katursky.

Every year Google reveals its top search person.And tonight, a Google employee who authorities say already knew who it was, is charged with placing fraudulent bets that netted him more than a million dollars.Federal prosecutors say Michel Spagnuolo's job as a software engineer gave him access to confidential data showing the singer known as David would be Google's most searched person of 2025.They allege he then used that information to place a series of Google -related bets on PolyMarket, a prediction market platform under the name Alfa Raccoon.At the time that bet was placed, federal prosecutors say Polly Market assigned a near zero probability to David being the number one searched person on Google this year.David, who has since pleaded not guilty to the murder of a 14 -year -old, making it to the top of Google's list.

And soon after the results were announced, prosecutors say Spagnuolo's Alfa Raccoon account profited approximately $1 .2 million.Tonight, with that Google employees charged with fraud and money laundering and has been placed on leave,Google says while he may have had access to confidential information, using it to place bets on a prediction market is a serious breach of policy.

Aaron Koterski, thank you.A stunning admission from former First Lady Jill Biden during an interview with CBS.Mrs. Biden reveals that she was frightened by President Biden's performance in the 2024 debate against Donald Trump.She says she thought he was having a stroke and had never seen him like that before.He dropped out of the race a month later.When we come back, breaking news about the Michigan woman who disappeared during a boating trip in the Bahamas, the dramatic images of a car swept away by a fast -moving river after a bridge collapsed, and the NFL star running back facing domestic abuse allegations, what prosecutors are saying tonight about possible charges.

Next night, breaking news in the Lynette Hooker case.The Coast Guard is planning to ask the Bahamas for permission to send in a team of U .S.divers to search new areas.Hooker has been missing since April 4th.Her husband, Brian Hooker, told authorities that she went overboard and vanished.

Her husband was arrested and questioned by police, but was later released.Green Bay Packers star running back Josh Jacobs is being investigated for domestic abuse allegations.Jacobs was released from a Wisconsin jail earlier today.He was taken into custody on Tuesday on allegations of strangulation, suffocation, and other offenses.The DA's office says it's too soon to make a formal charging decision.The Packers issued a statement saying that they were aware of the matter but were withholding further comment.

Next tonight, this heart stopping video, a car stuck on a bridge in China plunging into a fast flowing river after the bridge collapses.You see it right there.The car malfunctioned and the driver was unable to put it in reverse.Remarkably, the driver and passengers managed to escape and are safe.When we come back, the mystery scene exploding across the sky in western New York.To the index now, a canoe team got quite a surprise visitor during a race in Monterey, California.

Look at this, an enthusiastic sea lion jumped into their canoe, but it was a brief appearance.The mammal splashed back into the water and the race went on.A possible meteor was spotted exploding across the skies of western New York near Buffalo this morning.Videos captured that bright ball in the sky streaking downward and then disappearing after a bright flash.Still ahead, the stress, the skill, and the triumph at the annual Scripps National Spelling Bee.Finally tonight, the mastery, memorization, and nerves at the Scripps National Spelling Bee.

Hi Lauren, your word is decimosexto.Tonight, the 101 -year -old Scripps National Spelling Bee is underway.Acrotarcium.Close to 300 young spellers representing all 50 states descending on Constitution Hall in Washington, D .C.Ranging in age from 9 to 15, the Spellers laser focus with emotions running high at today's quarterfinals.

The word is bancha.B -A -N -C -H -A, bancha?

That is correct.

Thank you.E, C. Some creative contestants using their hands like an air keyboard.

Hmm, draconian.

And each year the words all the more challenging.

Here it comes, it's pseudepigraphy.Your word is inertial.

Can I have all the information please?

Leo, your word is cyberian.

Cyberian, C -Y -B -R -A -R -I -A -N, cyberian.That is correct.Thank you.

Nervous parents in the audience supporting their children.I'm sorry.And disappointment for those who don't advance.Number line is M -N -E -M -A -L -I -N -E.Excitement now building for tomorrow night's finals.

That is correct.Thank you.

The winner receives a trophy and more than $50 ,000 in cash and prizes.

That is correct.Thank you.

Love the enthusiasm.Good luck, guys.Thanks so much for watching tonight.I'm Wade Johnson in New York.Have a great night.