national ceremony at while paying tribute to troops who were recently killed in iraq. he mentioned the word "combat," but the president had officially declared the end of combat in iraq back income 2010. >> in iraq, and our fight against isil, three americans have given their lives in combat on our behalf. today i ask you to remember their stories, as well. >> the president went on to praise the heroic actions of the three men. critics have accused the administration of avoiding the word combat. in a recent interview, the president acknowledged that our troops in iraq will sometimes face combat situations. iraqi special forces are encountering stiff resistance as they try to retake fallujah. the city about 40 miles from baghdad is the second largest still held by the islamic state. there are tens of thousands of citizens still in fallujah and fears isis may use them as human

explosives. back here in the u.s., five people shot in baltimore near a memorial day cookout. the victims included a 30-year-old man who police believe was the intended target target. he was shot multiple times. none of the injuries is believed to be life-threatening. officials at the cincinnati zoo are responding to public outrage. they are defending account decision to kill an endangered gorilla after a young boy fell into the animal's enclosure. here's abc's elizabeth hur. >> oh, my god. >> reporter: the video is disturbing. a 4-year-old boy coming face to face with a 400 pound gorilla after somehow crossing a barrier and plunging some 15 feet into the moat. >> the barrier is adequate. we need to work that our families are safe whether you're visiting a zoo or shopping mall. >> he has fallen into the gorilla cage. >> reporter: his mother watched in horror from above until the scare ended with the zoo response team

killing endangered animal named haram bay. >> i wish i wasn't here right now. i really do. this is a tragedy. >> reporter: these concerned community members now want to make sure harambe is never forgotten amid growing zwrout outrage over the entire situation. >> people are out with pitchforks and torches for the poor mother. but at the same time, you know, nobody's perfect. >> reporter: the boy's mother in a now deletesed facebook post responding as a society we are quick to judge how a parent could take their eyes off their child calling this agaccident. and the zoo defending its decision to use lethal force instead of a tranquilizer. >> when it was determined that the child was being injured, potentially injured then we had to make a decision to shoot him and we did. >> reporter: that official went on to explain that this was a gorilla three times bigger and six times stronger than a man.

difficult decision. but they say it's a decision that saved the life of that young boy now recovering at home. gloria and kendis. >> still controversial there. elizabeth, thank you. coming up, elton john strikes a chord in russia. the rocket man plays before a wild crowded in moscow but strikes out in his hopes to meet president vladimir putin. why he wants so much to sit down with the russian leader. and what you may have never known about wolves. the effort behind trying to shake the bad rap that's been hanging over what some call these gent counsel creatures for centuries. you're watching "world news now." >> announcer: "world news now" weather, brought to you by olay regenerist luminous. olay regenerist renews from within... plumping surface cells for a dramatic transformation -without the need for fillers. your concert tee might show your age...your skin never will.

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and there's moving with thermove free ultra. it has triple-action support for your joints, cartilage and bones. and unlike glucosamine chondroitin, it's all in one tiny pill. move free ultra. get your move on. our planet has been putting on its own fire and light show for the memorial day holiday. look at that with fresh breakouts of lava from

kilauea in hawaii. it's especially impressive at night when you can see the lava glowing. these flows began about a week ago. experts an sure us no buildings are threatened unlike two years ago when homes and a cemetery were destroyed. a home in suburban washington, d.c. damaged, but not destroyed by a fireworks show right on its porch. investigators say vandals set off the m-80s causing two large explosions and a fire, and this took place around 2:00 in the morning. a resident said at first she thought it was a home invasion and she doesn't know the house was targeted. baylor university's football sexual assault scandal has claimed another career. the athletic director has resigned days after sanctioned and put on probation. last week they fired coach art broils and demoted the university president. the texas school has been an excused of ignoring reports of sexual

baylor hired jim grob as interim football coach. >> elton john says he's holding out hope for a future meeting with russian leader vladimir putin. he performed last night in moscow and thanked putin for inviting him to discuss lgbt issues as well as hiv and aids although that get together wouldn't take place during his trip to the russian capital, john made it clear there would be other opportunities. >> dialogue compassion is truly what is needed to end the aids epidemic. i hope to be in russia again and often. >> john has been critical of a russian law against so-called gay propaganda. he's criticized putin for suggesting gay people prey on children. so we're having a close encounter of the martian kind. mars at its closest to earth in 11 years right now. at some point in the past few hours ta, the red planet was just over 47 million miles away and

two weeks. no need for a telescope. if you want to see it, look to the southeast about nightfall for the bright fire yellow object in the sky. matt damon nowhere near it right now. and another incredible sight right here on planet earth. the rescue of a baby elephant caught in a storm drain in sri lanka. no one is sure how the pint sized pachyderm became snared. >> it happened in a port city where hundreds of wild elephants roam freely. port workers and animal rescue officials broke the drain open to free the little elephant there. the animal may have suffered a broken leg. very cute. >> very, very cute. coming up, living down centuries of a bad rap. >> what we're learning this morning about wolves that may make you look at these amazing creatures in a completely new light. you're watching "world news now." >> announcer: "world

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♪ for centuries, the wolf has been trying to live down a bad rap. many of us can hardly say the word wolf without at least thinking of those two other words, big and bad. >> or likal j. fox. experts say t

on this final day of a month dedicated to endangered species, we visited one organization working hard to save the wolf from extinction. >> open the door and let me in. >> reporter: a well-known character from many bedtime stories. ♪ who's afraid of the big bad wolf ♪ >> reporter: the wolf is often feared for its powerful hunting skills but the people at the wolf conservation center in westchester, new york, say the bad reputation is little more than a fairy tale. >> i think the greatest miss kepgs is that they pose a danger to people. they're elusive and shy creatures. wolfs have earned a reputation of being something out to get us. it's really the last thing they want to do. >> reporter: had xwv director maggie howell, yes, howell, is really her name has spent the last 11 years working toward the conservation and recovery of several wolf species. one in particular, the mexican gray wolf. just hit a somber milestone. 40 years on the critica

endangered list. >> decades ago, when their numbers were getting so low, basically the government wanted to identify as many wolves out in the wild as possible and see if they could be recovered by bringing them into captivity starting a breeding program, and then having a chance to release them back out. when they went around surveying looking for the last remaining mexican wolves or lobos, they came up with seven. so the founding population of all mexican wolves on the planet right now was only seven individuals. >> reporter: the wcc is one of 54 facilities taking part in the mexican wolf species survival plan. and though there are still less than 100 of them in the wild, every spring some lucky centers get to experience the birth of one of the rarest creatures in the world. a species fighting for its survival one small bundle at a time. >> this pup is just about a week old. it's a boy. he looks healthy and strong and robust which

goes by trumpet. one day he'll be considered for release into the natural habitat in either arizona, new mexico or northern mexico. >> so it's really important we safeguard their natural behavior if they want them to be wild wolves. most of them our visitors will never see except by webcam. we feed them really appropriate food. it's whole carcass road kill deer. we're hands off. it's our responsibility to give them a second chance. >> reporter: this second chance they're getting means arranging marriages which aren't always successful. >> when it comes to any management decision, whether it's who's breeding with whom or who gets to be released really genetics is at the policemen when making these decisions. >> reporter: this little pup doing his small part to keep the species going and changing perceptions about the big bad scary wolf. >> and speaking of wolf, were you more team edward or jacob from "twilight"? >> i'm going toav

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new rihanna. >> i couldn't do it. >> kissing what better? >> okay. moving on. we are all familiar with taps, that bugle call that tribute dozen our nation's veterans at flag ceremonies and military funerals. >> one teenager is now on a mission to change how, when and where we hear taps. here's abc's david wright. >> reporter: for 15-year-old katie pryor of oklahoma, "taps" is a labor of love. 24 notes in b-flat major featured in military funerals since the civil war. she learned it for her great-grandfather, a world war ii veteran. >> i wish i would have gotten to play "taps" for him, but i'd like to think that every time i play "taps" at someone else's funeral, i am in part playing it for him, as well. >> reporter: the young trumpet player was horrified to learn most veterans these days hear

instead of a live bugler. so, she formed a volunteer group, training other young musicians to play it properly. today, thanks to her, there are 75 volunteers in 19 states giving something back. >> you are getting to pay tribute to someone that you may not even know. you, a stranger, are getting to honor someone that went out and fought for your country. >> reporter: thanking them with a simple, somber bugle call. david wright, abc news, new york. ♪ wonderful mission. >> i can't hear that without getting the chills every time. amazing. that is the news for this half hour. >> do you remember to follow us on facebook as we take a look at d.c. at this hour. remember to f on facebook as we take a look at d.c. at this hour. remember to fn facebo

d.c. at this hour. remember to f facebook as we take a look a

this morning on "world news now," the race for the white house heating up. >> hillary clinton and bernie sanders marching on memorial day while donald trump gets set to announce what his campaign is doing with that charity money meant to help veterans. the latest just ahead. dangerous floods forcing residents in texas to evacuate after floodwaters turned deadly this holiday weekend. meanwhile, the east coast getting washed out with heavy rains. as many travelers find themselves with a tough way back home. and growing outrage over the killing of a gorilla when a boy fell into a zoo exhibit. the staff defending their decision to use lethal force while the boy's life was at risk saying the tragic situation could have been much worse. and turn on, tune in and dropout. we mean