we really are in unchartered territory with the election just eight days away. >> pierre thomas leading us off tonight. pierre, thank you. >>> meantime, hillary clinton in early voting is already under way, telling voters, there is no case here. and they are now fighting to protect whatever firewall they might have in some of the key battlegrounds. abc's cecilia vega in ohio. >> reporter: in ohio, where voting is already under way, tonight, hillary clinton trying to tackle the political firestorm engulfing her campaign. >> i'm sure a lot of you may be asking what this new e-mail story is about, and why in the world the fbi would decide to jump into an election with no evidence of any wrongdoing, with just days to go. that's a good question. >> reporter: clinton putting on a defiant front. >> and i am sure they will reach the same conclusion they did when they looked at my e-mails for the last year. there is no case here. >> reporter: clinton's team now counting on their get out the vote operation. more than 23 million votes already cast. in battlegrounds like north carolina and nevada.

pierre thomas, abc news, washington. >>> and back to the campaign trail right now. president obama heads to ohio today to support hillary clinton. she was in that all-important battleground state monday, holding two rallies. the to jump into an election with no evidence of wrongdoing, in her words. and she made the bureau's new inquiry seem like a waste of time. >> i will tell you this, if they want to look at more e-mails by one of my staffers, go ahead, look at them. and i know they will reach the same conclusion they reached when they looked at my e-mails last year. right? [ cheers ] it wasn't even in a close call. >> she says from. clinton also trying to shift the focus back on to trump, questioning if he was fit to be president. she used a line she used before, saying someone who can be baited with a tweet should not be trusted with nuclear weapons. >> trump is trying to make the most of that e-mail controversy, stressing the controversy in two appearances. trump said clinton would plunge the country into what he called a constitutional crisis. he predicted cli

let's bring in abc's pierre thomas, who is with us live in new york tonight. pierre, the fbi knows they'll be under scrutiny about this election about any possible role the fbi played? >> reporter: david, a source said comey faced difficult choices, made the best decision he could, but he will have a prickly relationship with clinton on trump, regardless of who is elected. i'm told that he's david. >> could have a difficult relationship with either president elect, whoever it might be. and how long is his term, pierre? >> reporter: he has a ten-year term. it's pyres in 2023 and he plans on serving every bit of it, i'm told. >> pierre thomas live here in times square, as well. pierre, thank you. just hours from now, election day begins. we'll have it all. our coverage begins right here tomorrow night with "world news tonight," and then at 7:00 p.m. eastern, i'll be joining george and the entire powerhouse political team, and of course, turn to other news this monday, and new developments in that horrific kidnapping in south carolina. a woman chained inside a sto

justice correspondent pierre thomas. he's live at the fbi tonight. pierre? >> reporter: david, jim comey defied his bosses five days ago when he dropped the bombshell about the clinton e-mail investigation. but abc news has learned that fbi director comey and lynch had a brief one-on-one yesterday after a national security meeting here at the fbi. we're told lynch and comey talked about how he was doing and she told him he would have all the necessary resources to make this work. today, we got a glimpse of comey beloved former justice official, but on his way out, he would not answer any questions. the lynch/comey meeting was described as cordial, and the first time the two talked in person since this erupted. david? >> and pierre, no new indication tonight as to whether or not we will hear from the fbi director before election day? >> reporter: none tonight, david. they say the investigation is proceeding. no word on what's happening with the e-mails. >> pierre thomas on his beat at the fbi. pierre, thank you. >>> and one week from tonight, election day. ou

no word on what's happening with the e-mails. >> pierre thomas on his beat at the fbi. pierre, thank you. >>> and one week from tonight, election day. with "world news tonight" and at 7:00 p.m. eastern, i'll be joining george and the entire powerhouse political team. we'll be here all night long and as i mentioned last night, it could be a very long night. >>> in the meantime, we do turn to other news tonight, and to baltimore. a deadly bus accident, a school bus on the way to pick up the first students of the morning, veering into oncoming traffic. shattering the side of a city bus, killing five people onboard that bus and the school bus driver, as well. abc's mary bruce on the scene tonight. >> reporter: both of those buses, violently ripped apart. the gnarled wreckage unrecognizable, except for a steering wheel. >> i'm declaring this a mass casualty. >> reporter: police say the school bus careened down this street like a horrific pinball. >> it truly looks like a bomb went through the bus. >> reporter: it's roughly 6:30 a.m. when the school bus plows into the back of

it expires in 2023, and he plans on serving every bit of it, i'm told. >> pierre thomas live here in times square, as well. pierre, thank you. and just hours from now, election day begins. we'll have it all. our coverage begins right here tomorrow night with "world news tonight," and then at 7:00 p.m. eastern, i'll be joining george and the entire powerhouse political team. and, of course, we'll be here all night long. >>> in the meantime tonight, we turn to other news this monday, and new developments in that horrific kidnapping in south carolina. a woman chained inside a storage container. the suspect, right there in the on a tour of his property. they have now found bodies buried there. tonight, did he also write chilling reviews on amazon? just as we also learn that after his arrest, he had demands. here tonight, abc's eva pilgrim. >> reporter: authorities tonight describe the suspected serial killer as cooperative, saying todd kohlhepp made three requests before he agreed to provide information to investigators. the former realtor wanted to give his mom a picture, talk with her a

woman was attempting to get away, but tonight, the incident is under senior justice correspondent pierre thomas. >> reporter: yet another controversial police encounter caught on tape. an officer punching a female suspect in the face during an eviction. slow it down and you can see the force of the punch. >> punched in the face two times, i was choked. just a brutal attack. >> reporter: but the officer claims the woman resisted arrest, kicking and kneeing him in the groin. flagstaff, arizona, police learned of the encounter aft facebook. authorities say the officer has no history of excessive force. >> we immediately became conceconce concerned, so, we initiated an internal investigation, and placed the officer on administrative leave. >> i didn't do anything! >> reporter: the case, the latest indicator how the prif lens of surveillance cameras and smartphones are placing officers are under increasing scrutiny. it's become reflex for citizens to record interactions with police. november, when college students reached for their cameras and later recorded police beating them. back in arizona, the

david, it's a new social media world for police. >> pierre thomas with us again tonight. pierre, thank you. >>> next, to the mysterious disappearance of a congressman's son. carl conyers is a student at the university of houston. his father, john conyers, from michigan, is the longest serving member of congress. carl was last seen on tuesday when friends checked his room, the next day, they found clothes and other items missing. the fb assisting now in the investigation. >>> a major report from the surgeon general tonight. the first ever to address drug and alcohol addiction. reported that 20 million americans have a substance use disorder. and that 78 americans die every day from an opioid or heroin overdose. that's one every 19 minutes. the surgeon general stressing that addiction is a chronic brain disease, and not a character flaw. >>> we turn now to the holiday rush about to begin, record and tonight here, three things travelers might consider to keep track of your luggage and to save you money. here's abc's david kerley. >> reporter: tonight, after the springtime de

>> pierre thomas, thank you for joining us. >> thank you. >> you looked into this real designated survivor. who is it right now? to person and in this om person- particular case , when the stateeof the union happens, going to pick a new person when fact is different from fiction when you have the diz naeted survivor, this person can is going to be flown to a location far away and top secret. very interesting. >> o who was the last one as you put in your ear piece? >> it's done by the white house in ccncert with the department of homeland security and there is a robust situation that goes along with it. we use to go to -- where congress would go in the event of a catastrophic attack and what it would be like. five-foot thick walls, a water treatment facility, a power plant and a hospital. fasccnating to see and looking at the reagan assassination go through that process with the secret service. -?fascinating. >> so the bunkers, almost underground cities where they would take the designated survivor. sounns like they do experience; is that right sglieshgs they do exist. take that scene with

pierre thomas abc news, new york. not all of the election related protests were as violent as we saw overnight... in austin, texas-- a little ir demonstrators... with her powerful message. :14-:24 i cannot vote. (and i cannot vote.) but that will not stop me from getting heard. (but that will not stop me from getting heard.) (cut to) :34-:42 love is love. (love is love.) and love trumps hate. (and love trumps hate) (applause, cheers) the video is making the rounds online as well this morning. many are saying they hope the violent protesters will take a message. and... nearly two dozen people from our community our celebrating their first day as u-s citizens this morning. 23 people from 14 different countries were naturalized yesterday out at lake mead. some of the people we spoke with, say the presidential election had a heavy influence on their push to get citizenship. 00:22:47 amis calito, father just became a citizen "with the rumors going around they're going to deport a lot of people that are not citizens, that's

>> ver serious correspondent, pierre thomas. >> i don't want the see pierre frozen. he's supposed to tell us if there's a terrorist attack going. >> i loved your eyes. >> that's good coffee. [ cheers and applause ] >> i had not heard about this. >> lara, this is the mannequin challenge. 1.4 million tweets with the hashtag mannequin challenge. the dallas cowboys. michael strahan and the guys this is a trend that's going viral right now. on the internet. >> it's pretty cool. >> it is. >> believe it or not, we think it was a 16-year-old girl, named emily adams in jacksonville, with her friends. one day, hanging out. having fun. making all these poses, like mannequins. one friend said, put it online. make it a challenge. this thing took off. blew up. there's been all the other challenges. >> the ice bucket. >> ice bucket. >> a plank challenge. a harlem shake challenge. this one requires the least amount of talent. >> just stamina. >> who can hold a cup of coffee without dripping it all over yourself. it's gone crazy. >> thank you, audience. >> well done, guys. >> pierre

abc's senior justice correspondent, pierre thomas, joins us now with more. good morning, pierre. >> reporter: robin, good morning. just like that, it's over. the fbi director once again in the middle of a heated campaign drawing political fire, this trump campaign. nine days after he stunned the nation over hillary clinton's private e-mail server, fbi director james comey apparently believes nothing consequential has been discovered. in a letter sent to congress on sunday, comey writes, based on our review, we have not changed our conclusions that we expressed in july. >> and we're glad this matter is resolved. >> reporter: sources tell abc news comey's decision comes after agents worked around the clock to use computers to sort through thousands of e-mails, discovered in a probe of a york congressman, anthony weiner, the confidant of huma abedin. comey wanted to know if the new batch of e-mails contained classified information. sent to clinton's private server. sources familiar with the investigation tell abc news those e-mails from weiner's laptop contained

pierre thomas, abc news, washington. >>> members of a washington state family missing since tuesday havehe country outside of seattle with two of their children when a road gave way and their van got stuck. they started walking, but still hadn't found the main road when darkness fell, did what they could to be safe and warm. they eventually made it back to the van until, finally, a group of hunters found them. >> she's in a halloween costume. >> skin to skin with mom the whole time. >> everyone's good. god is great. happy to be alive. >> mccallister says his 2-year-old daughter was a trooper, as we saw her there, d digging all over the van to find pieces of halloween candy. plenty of substance there. >> great story. >>> the honors keep coming for major leaguers. chris bryant and the cubs won the world series, and now he's a national league most valuable player. the 24-year-old slugger received two of the 29 of 30 first place votes. he said it's been one of the best years of his entire life. well deserved there. mike trout named mvp although the angels finished fourth. he scored one in si

here's pierre thomas. >> reporter: yet another controversial police encounter caught on tape. >> you can want arrest me. >> reporter: an officer punching the female suspect in the face during an eviction. slow it down, you can see the force of the punch. >> punched in the face a few times. i was choked. just a brutal attack. >> reporter: the officer claims the woman resisted arrest, kicking and kneeing him in the groin. the video was posted on facebook. authorities say the officer has no history of excessive force. >> we immediately became concerned, so we initiated an internal investigation, and we placed the officer on administrative leave. >> i didn't do anything! >> reporter: the latest indicator how prevalence of cameras, smart phones place officers under increasing scrutiny. >> let go, then. >> reporter: in fact, it's reflex for citizens to pull out phones and record interactions with police. november when college students reach for the cameras and later recorded police beatings. back in arizona, the police chief says there's officer body camera video and in the interest of tra

pierre thomas on the fbi's conclusion coming in late today. >> reporter: and just like that, nation nine days ago by reviving the investigation into clinton's private e-mail server, fbi director james comey told congress today, we have not changed our conclusions we expressed in july. back then, he called clinton's handling of e-mails but saying no charges in the case. he said the new e-mails did not alter their findings. agents sorted through thousands of e-mails found on a laptop shared by huma abedin and anthony weiner. the couple, now separated. >> it's like living a nightmare. >> pierre, so many doubted that but it turns out many were dupl duplicates? >> yes, he said he felt an obligation to tell the public no new e-mails were found. >>> and trhe clinton team frustrated, too. tonight, our abc news tracking poll. hillary clinton at 48%, donald trump at 43%. cecilia vega with reaction from the clinton team as they learned of the news. >> reporter: hillary clinton landing in cleveland. >> have you seen comey's new letter? >> reporter: waiting for the cameras but not answering questions

we're joined by our senior justice correspondent pierre thomas. let me ask you how intense do you expect this confirmation process to be? >> extremely. we saw a level friday we haven't seen for quite some time you had the chairman of the congressional black caucus saying it was appalling. supporters of sessions saying he's a good man. he's got a long outstanding record they say. a person of high character. senator cruz calling him a man who would protect the constitution and the rule of law. but the drama however intense it may be, will be short lived in the sense that the republicans get confirmed. >> the harshest allegations is he's racially insensitive and some critics say racist but he has passionately denied that but was rejected as a federal court judge back in 1986. >> a lot of the allegations of racism, and that's a really charged allegation by the way, stem from that particular confirmation process which he was rejected in. a black colleague said that sessions called him and that he ought to be careful about what he said to quote, white f