>> david: tonight, breaking news. the fireworks on capitol hill involving robert f. kennedy jr. the tough questions. also tonight, the crash of an f-35 fighter jet. all of it on camera. millions on alert right now for the dangerous winds here in the east, and then the winter storm moving in right behind it. first tonight, president trump's pick for health secretary, rfk jr., grilled over his comments against vaccines, saying in a podcast that there is no vaccine that is safe and

effective. tonight, rfk jr. grilled over that comment and others. >> i am pro-safety. >> david: kennedy, while railing against vaccines for years, acknowledging today his own children are vaccinated. tonight, abc news given access to an immigration raid that began just before dawn. our pierre thomas witnessing it unfold, from baltimore to aurora, east of denver, and tonight, the breaking headline. president trump confirming plans now to send 30,000 undocumented migrants to guantanamo bay. the same base where terrorists are still being held. you'll remember, we took you there on this broadcast. where will the migrants be held when they arrive? tonight, less than 48 hours after the trump white house ordered a freeze on spending for federal aid programs, medicaid portals suddenly not working for a time, questions over programs like head start and meals on wheels for seniors. tonight, the white house with an about-face, rescinding the freeze. tonight, the harrowing video showing the crash of an f-35 fighter jet. the plane plunging to the ground, exploding in flames.

the pilot ejecting just moments before. martha raddatz and what she's learned. the dangerous winds in the east. millions under alerts right now. and the winter storm right behind it. washington, d.c., philadelphia, new york city all included. lee standing by to time this out. after the eagles win, the celebration turning tragic in philadelphia. a fan on a light pole falling to his death. the remarkable moment tonight. >> don't lose me. >> the body camera video showing the heroes rescuing a 100-year-old woman in the california wildfires. you hear her say, "don't lose me." and more than a billion people around the world celebrating the lunar new year. the images right here in new york city tonight. >> david: good evening, and we begin tonight with those fireworks on capitol hill. robert f. kennedy jr. grilled by senators during his confirmation

hearing. president trump's pick to be the next secretary of health and human services. rfk jr. challenged about his many comments against vaccines and his reversal on abortion rights. there were also questions over the programs he would lead, including medicaid, that provides health insurance to 72 million adults and children with limited income. some were not convinced with his answer on that. and tonight, after repeatedly casting doubts on vaccines, rfk jr. telling senators his own children are vaccinated. and what he said about what he called the chronic disease epidemic in this country. abc's senior political correspondent rachel scott leading us off, she's on the hill again tonight. >> reporter: tonight, a contentious hearing for one of president donald trump's most controversial nominees. robert f. kennedy jr. facing tough questions in his quest to become health secretary. from the outset, kennedy, who has spread misinformation about the safety of vaccines, trying to get ahead of the issue. >> news reports have claimed that i'm anti-vaccine or anti-industry. i am neither.

you am pro-safety, and i believe that vaccines play a critical role in health care. all of my kids are vaccinated. >> reporter: though his own children are vaccinated, kennedy has long publicly questioned the safety of vaccines. democrats citing this 2023 podcast. >> there's no vaccine that is, you know, safe and effective. >> reporter: senator ron wyden challenging kennedy. >> mr. kennedy, you have spent years pushing conflicting stories about vaccines. you say one thing and then you say another. >> reporter: kennedy insisting -- >> i support the measles vaccine, i support the polio vaccine, i will do nothing as hhs secretary that makes it difficult or discourages people from taking -- >> anybody who believes that ought to look at the measles book you wrote, saying parents have been misled into believing that measles is a deadly disease. that's not true.

>> reporter: democrats casting kennedy as a political shapeshifter, not just on vaccines, but on abortion. >> mr. kennedy, in 2023, you came to new hampshire and said, quote, i'm pro-choice. i don't think the government has any business telling people what they can or cannot do with their body. so, you said that, right? >> yes. >> yeah. so, mr. kennedy, i'm confused. you have clearly stated in the past that bodily autonomy is one of your core values. >> senator, i agree with president trump that every abortion is a tragedy. >> reporter: though republicans were largely supportive, bill cassidy of louisiana, who is also a doctor, pressing kennedy to outline his ideas for reforming medicaid, the health insurance program that covers 72 million lower-income americans. kennedy appearing stumped. >> listen, i think that there is -- are many, many options with telemedicine, with a.i. right now, and, you know, there's a -- including direct primary care systems, we're seeing that movement grow across

the country. there's a -- one of the largest -- >> so -- so going back to medicaid, though, and speaking of these specific advances, how would you -- what reforms are you proposing with these ideas vis a vis medicaid? >> well, i don't have a broad proposal for dismantling the program -- >> of course not saying that. >> reporter: kennedy insists he's driven by a singular mission. >> president trump has asked me to end the chronic disease epidemic and make america healthy again. if we don't solve that problem, senator, all of the other disputes we have about who's paying and whether it's insurance companies, whether it's providers, whether it's hmos, whether it's patients or families, all of those are moving deck chairs around on the titanic. our ship is sinking. >> reporter: and robert f. kennedy jr. is back for a second day tomorrow. also tomorrow, david, we will see confirmation hearings for

tulsi gabbard, she is president trump's pick for director of national intelligence. she is expected to face some tough questions about her travels to syria to meet with bashar al assad. also tomorrow, kash patel, trump's nominee for fbi director will come before senators, too. he's expected to be pressed on his promise to go after trump's political enemies. david? >> david: rachel scott leading us off on the hill. a very busy week for you and our whole team there. rachel, thank you. now, to president trump's immigration crackdown, and the breaking news tonight. the president is now planning to send tens of thousands of undocumented migrants to guantanamo bay. it comes as our pierre thomas witnessed a raid that began just before dawn this morning, in fact, raids from baltimore to aurora, colorado, tonight. and what our chief justice correspondent pierre thomas has just learned tonight about where those undocumented migrants will be held at guantanamo bay. we took you to the prison holding terrorists there right here on this broadcast. tonight, there are still terrorists there, and now undocumented migrants soon on the way. here's pierre. >> reporter: tonight, abc news given access to an immigration raid --

>> we'll shut it down, we'll collapse on them. >> reporter: played out just before dawn near baltimore. we're riding along with a tactical team led by i.c.e. officers, along with atf and the dea. they're on a mission. within minutes, we're on stakeout. >> so, we have four targets so far this morning, the first target is convicted of robbery. >> reporter: two hours go by, as agents stalk the first suspect. suddenly, it's go time. police surround the suspect, who they say tried to escape. we see him sitting on the curb, handcuffed. >> i need you to come get my car, i just got pulled over. >> reporter: 90 minutes later, i.c.e. arresting another suspect in baltimore. they say a convicted drug dealer who sold fentanyl and cocaine. he's among the more than 1,000 i.c.e. arrests of undocumented migrants in the last 24 hours.

the standpoint of i.c.e. is simple. if you've been convicted of those kind of crimes, you're now leaving the country. but i.c.e. acknowledges some undocumented migrants who don't have convictions are also being arrested. >> so, the worst go first. everyone's on the table, so -- if we go arrest this dude, and there's another -- another person next to him who is also here illegally, we're going to start asking questions. if we determine that person is illegal, they're coming with us. >> reporter: arrests taking place across the country. in colorado today, federal agents say they detained a suspected member of a notorious venezuelan gang. and tonight, the breaking headline. president trump directing the pentagon and dhs to prepare to hold up to 30,000 undocumented migrants at guantanamo bay before they're eventually deported back to their home countries. the pentagon says they will not be held in the well-known detention facility that david toured in 2016, where some of the 9/11 terrorists have been held. >> david: we can actually see the detainees. they cannot see us back through this glass. >> reporter: and that moment

from the roof, when the prisoners did see us. >> abc news! >> reporter: tonight, 15 detainees are still there. the president today also signing the bipartisan laken riley act into law, requiring the detention of undocumented immigrants charged with crimes but not yet convicted. the law named after the case that made national headlines. laken riley, a 22-year-old nursing student, murdered by an undocumented migrant while jogging in georgia. today, laken's mother allison emotional. >> there's no amount of change that will ever bring back our precious laken. our hope moving forward is that her life saves lives. >> reporter: david, tonight, i.c.e. officials are unapologetic. they say there are thousands of undocumented migrants who have been arrested and convicted of serious felonies and violence. they say they're coming for them, david. >> david: very moving words from that mother today. pierre, thank you. tonight, there's also breaking news involving president trump's move to freeze funding for federal aid programs affecting millions of americans,

after 48 hours of confusion over programs like head start and meals on wheels, and the medicaid portal being shut down for a time. tonight, an about-face from the white house, rescinding that funding freeze. here's mary bruce. >> reporter: after 48 hours of chaos and concern that millions of seniors and children would lose aid programs they count on, tonight, a stunning about-face from the trump administration, now rescinding its sweeping directive to temporarily freeze trillions of dollars in federal funding that could have had major impacts. >> we are merely looking at parts of the big bureaucracy where there has been tremendous waste and fraud and abuse. >> reporter: but the president still hasn't specified what funding exactly he wants to cut. the freeze designed to follow through on his executive orders to overhaul government spending, but the move immediately sparking questions. the medicaid portal going down for a time in the confusion, though the white house now saying it wasn't even supposed to be affected by the freeze. leaving americans wondering,

what comes next? monsignor alfred la pinto from catholic charities in new york, one of the organizations that administers head start, worried. >> the most immediate threat would be in our child care programs. >> reporter: steve monroe from virginia, one of the 2.2 million seniors that relies on meals on wheels, says he would be devastated. >> doing something to -- to stop or cut the organization off is going to hurt thousands of people. >> reporter: still, this morning, the white house was adamant -- >> the american people should not be confused about this. >> reporter: but just hours later, in that two-sentence memo, the administration rescinding the freeze in funding. the white house still insists the president's plan to root out spending that doesn't align with his agenda, like diversity, equity, and inclusion programs, climate initiatives, and foreign aid, will be rigorously implemented. but tonight, a federal judge struggling to decipher what the white house's intention is, vowing to block any kind of funding freeze going forward. this, as more than 2 million

federal employees have been given a stark choice via mass email. resign and be paid until the end of september, or risk losing their jobs. those interested in the buyout told to respond with the word "resign" and hit send. trump confidant elon musk, who used strikingly similar methods to slash twitter's workforce when he took over the company, calling it very generous, and appearing to laugh at the simple instructions. unions representing federal workers from forest service firefighters to v.a. nurses, say this isn't a voluntary buyout, but a purge. >> they're scared. they're scared that they're not going to have a job. they're scared that they're not going to be able to, you know, pay the bills, take care of their families. >> reporter: and the union is stressing that this could have wide-ranging impacts on everyone from doctors who care for veterans to firefighters to civilians who work at the department of defense, and the union isn't confident that the administration will be obligated to pay these employees through september if they do resign. their message to federal workers tonight -- do not resign.

david? >> david: our chief white house correspondent mary bruce. now to the f-35 fighter jet crashing at an air force base in alaska during a training exercise. the images all on camera. the pilot ejecting just moments before. here's martha raddatz. >> reporter: tonight, dramatic video circulating online showing the military's premiere fighter jet, the f-35, plunging to the ground and bursting into flames. the pilot seen parachuting to safety after ejecting from the aircraft. >> plane was going straight up. i knew there was something wrong. it fell like a rock towards the ground, right by the highway and just blew up in the biggest fire ball i've ever seen. >> reporter: the air force said the pilot had reported a malfunction during a training mission at eielson air force base in alaska yesterday afternoon. >> the pilot did declare an in-flight emergency prior to what ended up being the crash. >> reporter: look closely. you can see that the landing gear on the jet was down.

>> it was almost right on the runway, which suggests that the pilot was troubleshooting some kind of problem and they were in the pattern, ready to land, and all of a sudden, they had to eject. >> reporter: investigators will be aided not only by the video that was captured, but by the pilot who survived, and whatever can be recovered from the $80 million aircraft itself. and david, the pilot was taken to the hospital immediately after he parachuted to the ground, but tonight, the air force is telling us he has been released and is in good shape. david? >> david: yeah, we are glad he's okay. martha, thank you. now to the winter storm on the way for the northeast. and even before tonight, more than 50 million people are under wind alerts right now from north carolina right up into the northeast. look at this. accidents already, i-90 near albany. and this new winter storm now on the way, washington, d.c., philadelphia, new york city will all be part of this. meteorologist lee goldberg of our station wabc of course tracking it all for us. hey, lee. >> reporter: david, bringing these snow squalls and

60-mile-per-hour gusts and crashing temperatures. that's this arctic front tonight. in fact, there's an active snow squall warning near the binghamton area right now. thankfully, these wind and winter alerts will come down tonight as we calm down tomorrow, but that's just for one day, before the next storm comes in. that storm was once the southern california soaker, now, it's soaking texas to kentucky overnight into tomorrow. and then, the same areas that got snow last week, they get severe weather tomorrow, from houston to louisiana, maybe damaging winds, an isolated tornado not out of the question. heavy rain to the ohio valley. then it's heavy rain here in the northeast, d.c. to new york to boston. unfortunately, in the interior, it could be mixed with some ice. it's a messy end of the month. david? >> david: lee goldberg and channel 7, we thank you both. this evening, the once powerful democratic senator from new jersey bob menendez sentenced to 11 years after his conviction for taking bribes of gold bars, a luxury car, and cash. authorities say he acted as an agent of egypt while he was chairman of the senate foreign relations committee. we turn to the economy tonight, and this evening, the federal reserve with its first

interest rate decision after president trump was inaugurated. after three rate cuts in a row, the fed chair leaving interest rates unchanged. the fed citing inflation still above the 2% target, and the uncertain impact of new trump policies, including potential tariffs. the markets were down on the news today. president trump tonight on social media criticizing the move to hold rates where they are. late today, fed chairman jerome powell when asked by abc news said the fed will remain independent and not succumb to political pressure from the white house. when we come back tonight, the horror in philadelphia, after the eagles' big win. the celebration turning tragic. a fan up on a light pole falling to his death. also tonight, the major recall involving a very popular brand of potato chips. and the remarkable moment, you'll see it right here tonight. deputies rescuing a 100-year-old woman in the california wildfires, and what she said to them, in a moment. we're stilg for that sweet shot. and with higher stroke risk from afib not caused by a heart valve problem... we're going for eliquis. eliquis reduces stroke risk. and has less major bleeding. over 97% of eliquis patients did not experience a stroke.

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l.a. county sheriff's deputies rescued a 100-year-old woman from an evacuated senior living facility as the eaton fire was closing in. >> i've been trying to find a way out. >> let's get you out of here. >> let's get you out. >> stand by. >> reporter: the body camera video shows deputies going room to room in that darkened facility, calling out for anyone still there. >> sheriff's department! anybody inside? >> hello? anybody inside? >> oh, my gosh. >> reporter: the smoke and flames bearing down on the building when they hear something. >> hello? >> hello? >> hello? >> reporter: following that sound -- >> where you at? >> where are you? >> reporter: they find her. >> oh, hi! okay, perfect, is anyone else with you? >> no. >> reporter: you can hear her relief as she begs them -- >> don't lose me. >> i promise i won't. >> we won't lose you, don't worry. >> thinking about my grandma, how i'd want a deputy or an officer treating her. >> if we weren't here, who knows what would have happened to her. >> reporter: and officials tell

us this woman is doing just fine tonight, and the sheriff's department is hoping to reunite her with her rescuers soon, david. >> david: thank you, trevor. and thank you to those deputies. i'll see you right back here tomorrow night. from all of us here, have a good evening. good night. right now. >> we are kicking off the lunar new year and counting down to the first chance for san francisco's new mayor to showcase the city. >> the eyes of the world are going to be on us that weekend, and we got to show off. >> just two and a half weeks until thousands come for the chinese new year parade, and thousands more for nba all star weekend. >> it's an opportunity to put san francisco back in the national spotlight better than before. good evening. i'm ama daetz. >> and i'm julian glover. abc seven is focused on building a better bay area, and that means

building up efforts to improve this area that we all call home. >> san francisco has struggled with post pandemic recovery. now, a new idea by two new san francisco supervisors could help change that. >> and if it passes, you would notice a difference along a mile of one of the city's busiest streets. van ness abc seven news political reporter monica madden joins us live to explain these changes. monica. >> julian, this proposal cos from two moderate new supervisors and is in line with mayor daniel lurie's big goals of revitalizing downtown. and they're hoping to reverse the city's long standing approach of how they can d or d, incentivizing rather big national chains. >> if you drive. >> down van ness avenue north of city hall. sure enough, you'll find vacancy signs every block. but filling those spaces is a process that can take upwards of two years, at least for large scale retailers. >> we've developed a reputation in san francisco as being difficult to deal with and do business in because of this. >> laura tonetti leases retail spaces for jll and