pierre thomas, thanks very much, we appreciate it. news for the latest on this developing story. we're always online at abcnews.com. "world news now" is coming up soon. "good morning america" will have a full report tomorrow. good night, thanks for watching. [doorbell rings] hey. hey. what's this? it's u-verse live tv. with at&t u-verse... you can watch live tv from your device. hey. hey. anywhere in your home. [doorbell rings] hey. hey. so you won't miss a minute of ncaa march madness. call now to get a u-verse bundle for the same great price for 2 years. guaranteed.

pierre thomas, abc news, washington. >>> now to a debate about politics and forgiveness. a louisiana republican is digging in tonight. the married father of five caught on tape kissing one of his staff members. while he is offering one of his apologies he's not offering to resign even some fellow republicans are pushing hard. abc now on the out cry and the congressman under siege. >> reporter: congressman vance mccallister is vowing to run for re-election and asking forgiveness for this kiss. the louisiana republican can be seen in this surveillance video at his district office, embracing a woman on his staff. he ran on a ticket of christian values. >> i believe louisiana values like faith, family and hard work are sorely missing in washington, d.c. just four months ago he told us washington would not change him. >> if i had a dollar for every time that i've been told you're a good guy, but don't let them change you, don't become one of them. >> reporter: but now the congressman acknowledges, there's no doubt i've fallen short and i'm asking for forgiveness from god, my w

>> pierre thomas with secretary jay johnson tonight. >>> a stunning moment in south korea to report. the prime minister stepping down over the government's handling of the aftermath of that ferry disaster. the disaster causing anger and shame throughout south korea. 187 people are confirmed dead. 115 still missing. and most of them are children. >>> tonight, a landmark statement from the palestinian president. a recognition of the jewish suffering. mahmoud abbas calling the holocaust the most heinous crime of modern history. and he expressed sympathy for the victims. tomorrow, israel observes the holocaust memorial day. one of the most solemn days on the calendar. >>> we're going to turn now to an historic day at the vatican. tonight, the catholic church has two new saints. named on the same day, a first. nuns in st. peter's square holding up a banner with images of the two popes can onized in an ancient ritual. in a modern twist, some of the faithful watching the ceremony in 3-d. terry moran is there tonight. >> reporter: good evening, david. rome is still humming tonight with the e

pierre thomas and the entire abc news team on the story tonight. thank you, pierre. >>> and we move, next, to the weather watch for 40 million americans in the middle of this country. a bull's eye of dangerous weather. hail like golf balls, fierce winds and the threat of tornadoes. the storm zone is stretching from illinois to the gulf and now marching east. and abc's ginger zee, a veteran storm chaser, is on the ground there. ginger? >> reporter: diane, it smells and it feels like spring storms. right here in memphis, we're in the elevated risk area. and although the storms have fired well to our west, it is going to be a long night in what has already been a long day of severe weather. sirens before sunrise in st. louis, missouri. an ef-1 tornado. winds as high as 110 miles per hour, slicing across the land. trampling nearly 100 homes. the governor of missouri, declaring a state of emergency. more than five inches of rain, forcing flash floods and water rescues south of kansas city. pelting rain, halting the cardinals in cincinnati. the stands, em

our senior justice correspondent pierre thomas went behind the scenes with him to get an inside look at those challenges. good morning, pierre. >> reporter: good morning, george. it could be an unforgiving job. jeh johnson is one of the key people the taxpayers play to worry about every ugly threat. the dark threats at the center of every bad storm. it's 6:28 a.m. and the new homeland security secretary arrives at the agency born out of the 9/11 nightmare. a nightmare jeh johnson experienced firsthand in an intensely personal way. >> i was born september 11th, 1957. >> reporter: and were you in new york on 9/11? >> i was in manhattan. i remember looking out the window and i could see the world trade center on fire. and within minutes, i saw the second plane hit. >> reporter: you actually saw it? >> yes. and i saw the buildings collapse. and, like a lot of new yorkers that day, i went down to the street and literally wandered the streets, asking, what can i do? >> reporter: nearly 13 years later, johnson now heads an agency that provides a key role in preventing another 9/11. after rea

pierre thomas, abc news, washington. >> we do have some more information on the shooter.tigators tell us he was identified as ivan lopez. an active-duty soldier. he worked as a truck driver on that base. he was married with a small child at ft. hood. but investigators have also found some indication that he may have an ex-wife and children back in puerto rico, his native puerto rico. >> the investigation is not showing any kind of terrorism links at this point. they aren't ruling anything out, but they aren't finding any evidence of that. but still, no known motive. >> we will follow this story and bring you the latest information throughout the morning. >>> another powerful jolt has rocked chile after that massive 8.2 earthquake. this time it was a 7.8 magnitude aftershock that hit last night in the same area as before. officials ordered an evacuation of the entire coastline but cancelled the tsunami warning. no new reports of major damage or injuries. at least six people were killed in the initial quake. >>> it's been two weeks since winter officially ended. it sure doe

abc's chief justice correspondent pierre thomas with what the experts are telling us tonight. >> reporter: why would a 16-year-old high school sophomore arm himself with knives and try to stab as many of his his classmates as possible? >> it was kind of a random thing and didn't have targets in mind. >> reporter: attacking with no expression. emotionless. he was not a star athlete. not the class president. an average kid who allegedly did something unspeakable. motive unclear. police are investigating schoolyard rumors that he was bullied. he joins perpetrators of mass violence in the past. columbine in colorado, kentucky, sandy hook, newtown, connecticut. young men ages 12 to 20 similar with dark sides, those around them never understood. brad is a former fbi profiler. >> there's a clear track record of every one of them with sort of displaced anger and rage and letting it build up over a number of weeks and months until they believe they can't take it anymore. if you look at the background, they feel like they were wronged. >> reporter: this case is different because the assailant chose

let's go straight to abc's chief justice correspondent, pierre thomas, for the latest details on the shooter and the casualties. pierre? >> diane, multiple law enforcement sources tell us the shooter is dead. authorities are in the process of clearing the base of any other potential threats. but it's believed there was only one shooter. that shooter is thought to be a soldier. we're told about a dozen people have been injured. and sources tell us that four people, including the shooter, are dead. the shootings took place in a workplace facility. president obama has been monitoring the situation and just made this statement. >> i want to just assure all of us that we are going to get to the bottom of exactly what happened. any shooting is troubling. obviously, this reopens the pain of what happened at ft. hood five years ago. we know these families. we know their incredible service to our country and the sacrifices they make. obviously, our thoughts and prayers are with the entire community. and we are going to do everything we can to make sure that the community at ft. hood has what i

abc's pierre thomas has the story. >> reporter: police and federal agents are hunting for a possible serial shooter. with as many as 20 drivers possibly targeted. this morning, tom mcfarlane is happy to be alive. he narrowly avoided being shot on a kansas city, missouri, highway. >> something hit the car. didn't know what it was. pulled over my first opportunity. and that's when i saw the bullet hole. >> reporter: he is 1 of 20 people shot at, along stretches of interstates 435 and 470, in just the past month. many clustered near exit ramps and interchanges. two people have been shot in the legs and another in the arm. law enforcement sources tell us, there's evidence linking some of the shootings. in a number of cases a handgun is involved. where the shooter fires just before speeding off to an upcoming exit ramp or split in the highway. in one shooting, an unidentified victim was shot by someone in a ski mask and hood firing from a car. in another, a woman heard a loud noise while driving home, was shocked to see a bullet hole in the door next to where her 3-year-old daughter had b

abc's senior justice correspondent, pierre thomas, is here to explain exactly what happened. good morning, pierre. >> reporter: good morning, amy. there's no delicate way to put this. the state of oklahoma was trying to execute a man and it did not go as planned. clayton lockett was one of two inmates oklahoma had slated for execution on tuesday night. but the second man was granted a stay after lockett's execution went terribly wrong. the 38-year-old was brought into the death chamber. the execution began at 6:23 began, when the first drug in a deadly cocktail of three drugs, never before used in oklahoma was administered. ten minutes later, he was declared unconscious. >> a few minutes later, he began convulsing. lifting his head and chest off the gurney. even mumbling a few times. >> reporter: as they administered the remaining two drugs, there was a problem with lockett's vein. >> there was concern at that time that the drugs were not having the effects. >> reporter: the blinds were lowered so witnesses could not see what was happening. >> it was my decision to stop the ex

pierre thomas, abc news, washington. >> oscar pistorius is expected back on the stand this morning ined the moment he shot his girl friend through the bathroom door. >> i kept shouting for reeva to call the police. >> the testimony so emotional that the judge actually left the courtroom. when she returned, she adjourned that trial for today. >> president obama and the first lady will attend a memorial service today. it is the second time that the president has visited the army base after a mass shooting. last week an argument on base ended with the deaths of four people. 16 others were injured. the obamas were already set to visit texas today. >>> ahead of his trip, the president moved a step closer to closing the gender wage gap. he signed an executive order to protect federal workers who want to be transparent about salary without fear of retaliation, mara schiavocampo reports on equal pay. tennessee mother terry kelly, an executive at a pharmaceutical company found out she was underpaid only because her husband worked at the same company doing the same job. he had a higher starting

pierre thomas has been tracking that part of the story. >> reporter: good morning. it increasingly appears the deadly shooting spree was done by a soldier with mental health issues who may have had a simmering resentment toward the army. a simple argument. that's all it may have taken to ignite a hail of gunfire that left three soldiers murdered and 16 others wounded. >> we believe that the immediate precipitating factor was more likely an escalating argument in his unit area. >> reporter: possible source of that dispute? wednesday, iraq war veteran ivan lopez was applying for leave and frustrated by a slow-moving bureaucracy. >> he was told to come back tomorrow. >> reporter: alex perez about his son johnson's near fatal encounter with the suspect. he left the office and reappeared with a gun. then the shooting began. >> from what i was told, the first person that was hit died, and then the gun was turned on my son. and he was hit four times. >> reporter: lopez allegedly went on a shooting spree, opening fire in two buildings. from his car while driving on the base

abc's pierre thomas is also in murrysville, and he has that. good morning, pierre. >> reporter: good morning, george. the young man is being held at the correctional facility behind me on suicide watch, after a day so bloody, no one can believe it. alex hribal in handcuffs. only 16. charged as an adult. accused of a cold-blooded stabbing spree that sent his school into chaos. witnesses say he was expressionless, no emotion. calmly attacking in an explosion of violence. when apprehended, he allegedly told police he wanted to die. his stunned father, only offer well-wishes to the wounded. >> my prayers go out to everyone who was injured today. and hope they recover as quickly as possible. >> reporter: a family attorney telling abc news, that hribal's parents describe him as a good student, who had never been in trouble, with no history of psychiatric problems. they said he looks young for his age. but that he mingled well with other children. but some of hribal's classmates disagreed. one of them telling us, he seemed nerdy, but with a dark side.

abc's pierre thomas has that part of our coverage. od morning, pierre. >> reporter: good morning, robin. the suspect was apparently suffering from serious mental health issues and sources tell me that likely played a key role in yesterday's tragic shooting spree. while the motive for the shooting is unclear, military officials are describing the suspect as a man in turmoil this morning. possibly suffering from posttraumatic stress disorder. >> he was undergoing behavioral health and psychiatric treatment for depression and anxiety. he was on medication. >> reporter: ivan lopez had told officials he suffered from a traumatic brain injury but the military had not been able to confirm that. >> he was not a wounded warrior. he was not wounded in action to our records. no purple heart. >> reporter: lopez, an active duty soldier and truck driver had served in iraq for four months in 2011 and had only come to ft. hood in february. his neighbor told us he had moved near the base just three weeks ago with whom she believes are his wife and daug

allies will impose new sanctions on russia if the situation does not improve we also caught up with pierre thomas french presidential representative for dealing with russia who told us the sanctions so far are bad joke sanctions person or what you call a fish. it's only because you're up in the beach when you come in which ones he sings are pretty inefficient and to forgive because when he sees a. very steep incidental to the new visa he has no sense you know if and. he's the president of the of cities of the english so it's about tools and machines that. win points a good point you just sanction economic. it's a good extension so you know i don't use even if he said it was you know we did it when we should be fifty different countries now distribution he looked at him again that night deep seated decision before i go to diplomacy our friend rashad is ukrainian government and united states to find a solution in ukraine around the ideal federal state and that's a sort of it could mean we need russia and russia needs to give it up so that's not to target and restore p.g. for europe because i was go

allies will impose new sanctions on russia if the situation does not improve we also caught up with pierre thomas french presidential representative for dealing with russia who told us the sanctions so far are bad joke sanctions person the way . fish it's a route it's only because you're up in the beach when you come in which are the ones he says things are going to be inefficient and to forgive because when he sees it that there is schemes that it will to people. have no sense you know if and. he's the president of the of cities with two million russian soldiers about tool machine isn't winning points is a good point the distinction economics in. it's a good extension so you know i don't use even if he said it was you know we did it when we should be beefing to different countries now the cities and he's looked at him again that night you seem to think you should go to diplomacy our friend rashad if you create new government and united states to find a solution in ukraine around the idea of federal state and that's the sort of economy we need russia and russia needs to keep it up so that's not t

allies will impose new sanctions on russia if the situation does not improve we also caught up with pierre thomas french presidential representative for dealing with russia who told us the sanctions so far are bad joke sanctions person the way he ordered fish. each one you put you up in the beach when you come in which ones he sings are pretty inefficient and to forget because when he sees a. very steep hill to the. new visa he has no sense who is defending the. president of the of cities of the no english so it's about tools and machines that . win points is a good point it's essentially economics in. it's a good extinction you know i don't use even if he said it was you know we did it when we should be fifty different countries now decision he stood up to him again that night deep seated before i go to diplomacy we said our friend rashad if you create a new government and united states to find a solution in ukraine around the idea of federal state and that's the sort of keep it going to me we need to show russia needs to keep it open it's not to tell you this is restore p.g. for europe because

allies will impose new sanctions on russia if the situation does not improve we also caught up with pierre thomasrench presidential representative for dealing with russia who told us the sanctions so far are bad joke sanctions person or what he called a fish. eats only because you have been to the beach we come in which ones he says things are going to be inefficient and to forgive because when you season. there is skeeters all to do is no visa he has no sense you are defending the. president of the of cities of the million russian soldiers about tool machine moves . when point is a good point it's essentially economics in. didn't extinctions you know i don't use even if he said it was new what we did when we should be fifty different countries now the cities and he looked at them again that i did not seem to. go to diplomacy our friends were shots of ukrainian government and united states to find a solution in ukraine around the idea of federal state and that's the sort of. mean we need russia and russia needs to keep it up so that's not the target of funds for a strategic for europe because i w