joining us is our senior justice correspondent pierre thomas, pierre, thank you.e all see pieces of the puzzle but you've been connecting the dots. >> what struck me was the chronic, sustained nature of this violence. you can book it that tonight on a hot summer night in july, someone somewhere in this country will be shot, someone will be wounded, and lives will be forever changed. >> mass shootings tend to grab national headlines. you looked at individual shootings. >> not just shootings in places like chicago. across this country, over and over, much of it domestic violence, it's shocking. >> pierre thomas, thanks to you and your team for that report. thanks so much. >> pleasure. >> we'll be back. >> this special edition of "nightline" is brought to you by geico. let's feed him to the sharks! squuuuack, let's feed him to the sharks! yay! and take all of his gold! and take all of his gold! ya! and hide it from the crew! ya...? squuuuack, they're all morons anyway! i never said that. they all smell bad too. no! you all smell wonderful! i smell bad! if you're a pa

>> pierre thomas with us again tonight. pierre, thank you. >>> meantime, donald trump tonight waving as he left meetings on capitol hill himself with members of his own party, saying that are by great meetings, and in his words, quote, very productive. but this evening, we're learning of reports of tension inside those meetings, and here's abc's david wright. >> reporter: today, at the washington capital club, the dealmaker tried to win over the doubters. donald trump, seeking to reassure republicans. >> i think we had a great meeting with our presumptive nominee. >> reporter: but the atmosphere in some of those meetings, tense. senator jeff flake of arizona confronted trump about this snipe at john mccain. >> he's a war hero because he was captured. i like people that weren't captured, okay? i hate to tell you. >> reporter: flake introduced himself to trump as the other senator from arizona, the one who didn't get captured, saying, "i want to talk to you about statements like that. kws. >> i want to is support our nominee.

>> all right, pierre thomas leading us off tonight. the legal part of this might be over, but the political fallout was immediate and continues at this hour. donald trump calling this rigged, as i mentioned, and just before we came on tonight, calling it a, quote, miscarriage of justice. but there was the president late today, standing behind hillary clinton, about to take to the podium, his first appearance with her on the trail. and the timing of this was not lost on anyone. abc'sec charlotte. >> reporter: it wasn't shaping up to be the kind of day where hillary clinton would smile much, but there she was. her most powerful political ally not just in her corner, but right there on her stage. >> fired up! >> ready to go! >> i am. i'm fired up. hillary got me fired up. >> reporter: president obama joining clinton on the campaign trail just hours after the fbi blasted her for that e-mail use. but from the president, nothing less than a ringing endorsement. >> and there has never been any man or woman more qualified for this office than

that has to be factored in, george. >> pierre thomas, brad garrett, thanks very much. robin? >>> joining us now is reverend jeff hood. he is one of the people who planned the protest in dallas last night. reverend, thank you so much for joining us this morning and our thoughts are with you and everyone there in your city. you were one of the organizers for the protest. tell us the reason for it and what was the atmosphere like before the shootings. >> certainly here in dallas and just like in many other parts of the country, people were upset about what happened in baton rouge. they were upset about what happened in st. paul, and we wanted people to have a healthy place to engage their anger, to grieve, to comfort each other, to network. this protest started out as a really beautiful thing, and we certainly accomplished those spaces of anger, those spaces of grief and those spaces of networking. as we marched through the streets of dallas, there was a real solidarity, a real peace. the police remarked that this was an incredibly nonviolent protest, considering the amount of p

>> all right, pierre thomas live with us tonight, as well. pierre, thank you. >>> the other developing story as we come on the air tonight involves the race for president. abc news has learned that donald trump will choose indiana governor mike pence to be his running mate. the decision comes after the two met several times this week, trump even flying his children out to indiana. a family affair. a new national poll tonight showing trump in a dead heat now with hillary clinton. the official announcement of the vice presidential pick comes tomorrow morning, but abc's tom llamas has the new reporting right here tonight. >> reporter: you're hired! tonight, donald trump teaming up with indiana governor mike pence as his running mate. >> you have to make a pick, and eventually you just sort of, okay, let's go this route. >> reporter: tonight, pence landing in new jersey, jumping into a motorcade. this moment coming after pence pulled off two big victories. first, nailing his public audition with trump. >> you know, donald trump understands the fru

>> pierre thomas with us in washington. pierre, thank you. >>> meantime, hillary clinton traveling to atlantic city today to stand in front of one of donald trump's shuttered casinos. abc's cecilia vega on the campaign tonight. >> reporter: hillary clinton today, taunting donald trump on his own turf. >> what he did for his businesses and his workers is nothing to brag about. in fact, it's shameful. >> reporter: right here in atlantic city, outside his shuttered trump plaza casino. trump's casinos once fixtures in this city. >> it's some crowd. good luck, everybody. do well. use it in good health. >> reporter: but again and again, trump filed for bankruptcy on his properties. clinton now accusing trump of abandoning the famous boardwalk and its workers. >> and i have a plan to make sure big businesses can't stiff suppliers and contractors, like donald's been doing for years. >> reporter: hundreds of plumbers, painters, waiters and others accuse trump of not paying them for their work, according to a "usa today" investigation

our senior just correspondent pierre thomas is here with more. e are always security issues around a convention. this year more than ever. >> reporter: that's right, george. one day from the start of the gop convention and law enforcement is facing perhaps the most volatile and complicated security picture in recent memory. and what happened in nice is only intensifying those concerns. the carnage in nice happening less than a week after the dallas massacre and the police killings of black men in baton rouge and minnesota. all this a little more than a month after the massacre in orlando. this is the threat picture as the republican convention is set to begin. here in cleveland, the secret service and police officials are preparing for every possible contingency from unruly protesters to lone wolf mass shooters to terrorists. >> we have to be prepared for everything. it's a different world today. >> reporter: and while there's no specific credible threat to the convention -- >> oh. >> reporter: -- there are concerns that volatile political organiz

pierre thomas, on that point -- >> my grandparents were slaves, could not read and wry. i was a child of segregation, and this is just so overwell. ing. >> it is. it is. and for so many others, george. much. on that point we just heard, pierre thomas, hillary clinton trying to reach out to so many voters who may feel left out and what they think of donald trump's world. >> absolutely, george. i mean, clearly, she's trying to cast this convention and her candidacy against the backdrop of what donald trump did last week. the other thing that struck me is, there came a moment when president obama was running, when african-americans truly thought there was a real president of the united states. she clearly was appealing to women to do the same thing, to think about this moment, what it meant for their daughters and for all of them and indeed the country. she said when barriers are broken for some, they are broken for all. that was the appeal she made, direct appeal to women. >> clinton and kaine families out there on the stage. we heard from president obama. he weighed in, t

pierre thomas, on that point -- >> my grandparents were slaves, could not read and wry. i was a child of segregation, and this is just so overwell. ing. >> it is. back to you. >> okay, terry, thank you very much. on that point we just heard, pierre thomas, hillary clinton trying to reach out to so many voters who may feel left out and what they think of donald trump's world. >> absolutely, george. i mean, clearly, she's trying to cast this convention and her candidacy against the backdrop of what donald trump did last week. the other thing that struck me is, there came a moment when president obama was running, when african-americans truly thought ther w possibility he could become the president of the united states. she clearly was appealing to women to do the same thing, to think about this moment, what it meant for their daughters and for all of them and indeed the country. she said when barriers are broken for some, they are broken for all. that was the appeal she made, direct appeal to women. >> clinton and kaine families out there on the stage. we heard from presid

here's abc's senior justice correspondent pierre thomas now. >> reporter: tonight, kansas city police trying to reassure calculated attack on police. captain robert melton was gunned down after responding to drive by shooting this week. as many as 20 shots fired. police now say it wasn't an ambush, but a tragic death in the line of duty. >> we believe this case is another example of a known criminal trying to escape arrest. >> reporter: police around the country on edge, now facing greater threats. >> this devastating loss is yet another reminder that our courageous officers put their lives on the line every day in order to serve the public. >> reporter: so far this year, 32 officers have died in firearms-related incidents, a 78% spike compared to last year. eight officers killed in the last two weeks alone in cold-blooded assassinations. in dallas and then just this past weekend, the apparent targeted assassination of officers in baton rouge. >> we are up against a force that is not playing by the rules. they haven't played by the rules. didn't play by the rules in dallas and didn't

pierre thomas, on that point -- >> my grandparents were slaves, could not read and wry. i was a child of segregation, and this is just so overwell. ing. >> it is. it is. and for so many others, george. back to you. >> okay, terry, thank you very much. on that point we just heard, pierre thomas, hillary clinton trying to reach out to so many voters who may feel left out and what they think of donald trump's world. >> absolutely, george. i mean, clearly, she's trying to cast this convention and her candidacy against the backdrop of what donald trump did last week. the other thing that struck me is, there came a moment when president obama was running, when african-americans truly thought there was a real possibility he could become the president of the united states. she clearly was appealing to women to do the same thing, to think about this moment, what it meant for their daughters and for all of them and indeed the country. she said when barriers are broken for some, they are broken for all. that was the appeal she made, direct appeal to women. >> clinton and kaine fami

they didn't play by the rules in dallas, and they didn't play by the rules here. >> and pierre thomas is with us tonight. yet another loss for police here in america. but they were very quick today to point out to this nation on edge already that this was not a police ambush. >> reporter: they wanted to make clear that this was not a police assassination, but david, make no mistake, this is an especially dangerous moment for law enforcement, so many being gunned down this year. >> and a loss is a loss indeed. all right, pierre, thank you. >>> next tonight, to another warning, the "pokemon go" craze, that virtual scavenger hunt, as authorities across the country continue to caution against distractions. one player caught on camera, crashing into a police car right here in baltimore there. a close call for those officers standing on the sidewalk when a driver slammed into their cruiser. no one was hurt. the young driver admitting to police right afterward when he got out of the car that he was focused on his phone on "pokemon go" instead of the road. a warning for everyone tonight. >>>

feels like on every corner. >> no question about that, pierre thomas, thanks very much. >>> more on thiseland, frank jackson. mr. mayor, thank you for joining us this morning. we heard pierre say up until today there had been no specific and credible threats to the convention. is that still the case? >> yes. >> and what can you tell us about the overall security situation and the kinds of precautions you put in place? as we saw there there had concerns from the police union earlier this month that they weren't well trained. they didn't have the resources they needed. >> well, that's from that source. as the chief said, we are prepared. and we're prepared not only on a local level but the state and the national level. >> which threat concerns you the most right now? >> none of them i can't say one threat concerns us. we're prepared for everything. and as you know, any time something happens, particularly if it's unusual, then you tweak and you modify whatever you're doing to accommodate that in order to minimize it or mitigate the possibility of it. >> how much was the situation changed b

pierre thomas, hard to believe it's only bnl 12 years since his introduction to the national stage. down played race as he was first running for president. becoming more vocal, more open, speaking as an african-american of his presidency. >> yes. and it will be interesting to see if he follows his wife's lead, who talked about, monday night, of being an african-american couple, living in a white house built by slaves. be interesting if he goes there. >> emotional high point of this convention so far. the president has already said that she's given the best speech of this convention. he can't top it. but we know he's a pretty competitive guy. >> that 3:00 a.m. rewrite came after he saw her speech. >>et >> thank you! thank you. thank you! thank you. thank you so much. thank you, everybody. thank you. thank you so much, everybody. thank you. thank you, everybody. thank you. thank you. thank i love you back. so, 12 years ago tonight, i addressed this convention for the very first time. you met my two little girls, malia and sasha. now two amazing young women who just fill you fell for m

law enforcement joining dallas police in the investigation and our senior justice correspondent pierre thomas is tracking all the developments from washington. good morning, pierre. >> reporter: good morning, george. of great concern is the fact that there appear to be so many suspects possibly as many as four. it looks like there must have been a level of cooperation and police say there were at least two snipers shooting from elevated positions. if that's true this is unlike anything we've seen since the washington snipers when they terrorized the d.c. region more than a decade ago. one of them was allegedly firing were bombs throughout the area and checking reports he may have been neutralized and that the standoff is over. >> what more do we know about how the others were apprehended? >> reporter: one of the suspects was arrested in a garage, a female and we also know that two suspects were taken into custody after they were fleeing the scene at a high rate of speed. police throughout the country are now on high alert. the situation is fluid because police are telling me this was a calcul

abc news senior justice correspondent pierre thomas has the story. >> against the backdrop of today'sge, cleveland is deploying an army and building a fortress to protect the republican convention. it's not lost on law enforcement officers that they have a target on their backs. just ten days ago, that ambush in dallas. protesters running as snipers take aim at officers. police plunging into the chaos to save lives. five officers losing their own. >> police officers who did not return home from work. >> and it was just three days ago that president obama sat down for a national town hall meeting on policing and race. >> we have to have police that are respected and we have to recognize the fear that their families go through every time they walk out that door. >> tonight law enforcement sources tell abc news they're bracing for perhaps the most volatile and complicated security picture in recent memory. those dump trucks are there to stop car, trucks or anything else from getting access to crowds there are thousands of livers in the city, including many on bikes. the goal is to be fle

reportedly received an honorable discharge for reasons his military lawyer doesn't understand and pierre thomas joins us from washington with more on what we're learning about the gunman. good morning, pierre. >> reporter: good morning, paula. the suspect's motive disturbing. racial hatred and simmering bitterness for police. authorities say this is the deadly sniper, micah xavier johnson, a former military man who went hunting for police specifically white officers. >> one officer is down. >> there appears to have been one gunman with no known to or inspiration from any international terrorist organization. >> reporter: law enforcement sources tell abc news johnson was armed for a shooting spree with an assault rifle and two handguns. >> it's been a tale of cowardice by an assassin. >> reporter: johnson served in the army reserve from 2009 to 2015 doing a tour in afghanistan. according to police, his facebook page reveals some of that rage against police. he liked the page which said, "kill everything blue that moves." overnight police searched johnson's home in me quite, texas and found bombm

pierre thomas, our seen your justice correspondent. though statements from the shooter who has now been killed, upset about black lives matter, wants to kill white people, especially white officers, that immediately turns this into a federal civil rights investigation, no? >> yes. that will be looked at. we're expecting we may hear from the attorney general later today. one thing that struck me about this situation. you have someone saying he wants to kill white officers, white people, reacting to what we've seen take place in minnesota and perhaps baton rouge. but these situations are very fluid. they have these three suspects. they want to know more about them. sometimes people that you think are suspects, they wash out. but clearly they suspect there was another shooter. they need to resolve that. but this is a major piece of the case here in which they have a person that they know did this or part of it, and he's given them a motive. the key now is did he have a support. that is what law enforcement is all over right now. my sources

. >> all right, pierre thomas, thank you so much. >>> the largest cities in the country starting in mcdonald's in the mall built on the site of the attack of the 1972 olympics which which...several wounded and dead in the attack. german officials are responding. we have no claim of responsibility from isis. we will have more tonight on "world news." this has been a special report from abc. >> abc7 news starts right new with breaking news. >> you were watching the abc7news.com special report from germany with police confirm several people dead after a shooting at shopping mall. this is 9 scene in munich under a shelter-in-place and the city center is shut down. several people are injured. this started in the mcdonald's and ever involved from there. the subway system in munich is shut down because had are reports the gunman took off toward the train. there is no word on how many shooters. we will continue to keep you posted. you can stay with us for the latest breaking news and follow us on twitter@abc7newsbayarea. >> i am matt keller. christian will be here later today. right now in san francis

pierre thomas on the chilling motive. >> reporter: micah xavier johnson, a former military man who was apparently harboring deep racial hatred, especially against white police officers. johnson's facebook page content reveals some of that rage. he "liked" a page which said, "kill everything blue that moves." police say johnson embraced a radical form of afrocentrism. johnson served in the army from 2009 until 2015, and did a tour in afghanistan. today, when police searched johnson's home in meui texas, they found bomb making materials, ballistic vests, rifles, and a personal journal of combat tactics. >> this guy lived around the corner from me and was willing to take people's lives he didn't even know. you know, it's scary. >> reporter: johnson's sister took to facebook today, writing, "the news will say what they think, but those who knew him know this wasn't like him." police initially thought there were two gunmen. but tonight, law enforcement sources tell abc news they believe johnson was the lone gunman. >> and pierre joins us. what are your sources telling us they're looking at?

pierre thomas is in new york city's times square tonight, where there is stepped-up security tonight. what are you learning? >> reporter: here in times square, they say when they have larged celebrations like independence day and new year's eve, they put up barriers to protect from vehicles. there's only so much you can do, and there is risk with thousands of people walking up and down the streets, like now, all around me. >> and all of this playing out today amid the race for president. donald trump and hillary clinton responding to the terror. but we also learned who donald trump is choosing as his running mate. but did trump have second thoughts at the last minute? here's tom llamas. >> reporter: tonight, indiana governor mike pence taking his first steps into donald trump's world. what have the last 24 hours been like? >> exciting. >> reporter: but did trump have second thoughts? yesterday, pence flew from indiana after sources tell us trump offered him a spot on the ticket. and pence believed to have accepted it. our cameras catching him walking into a manhattan hotel. >> i haven

abc's senior justice correspondent pierre thomas tracks homeland security and, pierre, concerns here especially high with both political conventions coming up. >> yes, george, law enforcement has identified no specific threat in connection with those conventions but i can tell you there's deep concern just because of all the pace that we're seeing. just yesterday fbi director and homeland security secretary jeh johnson were expressing their worry about the potential things could get out of hand mainly because of groups with polarizing views that may descend on each convention. my sources tell me that leading into the conventions, that this is perhaps the most volatile and complicated security picture in recent memory. >> and it comes against the backdrop, as we've talked about so many times, pierre, with new warnings and alerts from isis to all of their followers, just attack whoever you can, wherever you can. >> reporter: the short answer is that there's real risk. we saw san bernardino last december and only about a month ago as brian mentioned the orlando massacre when a madman in

pierre thomas, on what's being done with just hours to go until the republican convention. backdrop of today's horror in baton rouge, cleveland is deploying an army and building a fortress to protect the republican convention. just ten days ago, the ambush in dallas. >> police officers that did not return home from work. >> reporter: it was just three days ago that president obama sat down for a national town hall meeting on policing and race. >> we have to have police that are respected, and we have to recognize the fear their families go through every time they walk out that door. >> reporter: tonight, law enforcement sources tell abc news they're facing perhaps the most volatile and complicated security picture in recent memory. >> reporter: those dump trucks are there to stop cars, trucks, or anything else from getting access to crowds. there are thousands of police officers in this city, including many on bikes, to give them the flexibility they need to get anywhere quickly. and there are camera situational awareness. all of this taking place in ohio, an open carry sta

abc's senior justice correspondent pierre thomas brings us the latest from washington. od morning, pierre. >> reporter: good morning, george. in one of the most dramatic moments of 20 years of covering the fbi, the fbi director took center stage, no one knowing what he decided with the power to affect the outcome of the 2016 presidential election. the decision about the clinton e-mail investigation so sensitive and critical to the presidential race, fbi director james comey kept the white house and his boss, the attorney general in the dark. >> they do not know what i'm about to say. >> reporter: in a dramatic hastily arranged press conference he announced the results of thousands of hours of fbi investigation. >> our judgment is that no reasonable prosecutor would bring such a case. >> reporter: but despite that recommendation the fbi director gave a blistering assessment of clinton's decision to use private e-mail to conduct government business. >> there is evidence that they were extremely careless in their handling of very sensitive highly classified information. >>

pierre thomas on the chilling motive. >> reporter: this is the deadly sniper. micah xavier johnson, a former military man who was apparently harboring deep racial hatred, especially against white police officers. >> he was upset about black lives matter. he said he was upset about the recent police shootings. >> reporter: johnson's facebook page content reveals some of that rage against police. he "liked" a page which said, "kill everything blue that moves." police say johnson embraced a radical form of afrocentrism. and law enforcement sources say he was armed with an assault rifle and two handguns. johnson served in the army from 2009 until 2015, doing a tour in afghanistan. today, when police searched johnson's home in mesquite, texas, they say they found bomb making materials, ballistic vests, rifles, and a personal journal for combat tactics. >> this guy lived around the corner from me and was willing to take people's lives he didn't even know. you know, it's scary. >> reporter: johnson's sister took to facebook today to defend her brother, writing, "the n

pierre thomas is in new york city's times square tonight, where there is stepped-up security here at home. pierre, what are you learning? >> reporter: the nypd is stepping up security in areas with heavy pedestrian traffic. like here in times square. they say when they have large celebrations like independence day and new year's eve, they put up all sorts of barriers barriers to protect the crowd from vehicles. but the fact remains, there's only so much you can do, and there is risk with thousands of people walking up and down the streets, like they are now, all around me. >> that is the true concern. pierre, thank you. >>> and all of this playing out today amid the race for president. donald trump and hillary clinton responding to the terror. but we also learned today who donald trump has chosen as his running mate. but did trump have second thoughts at the last minute? here's tom llamas. on the campaign trail tonight. >> reporter: indiana governor mike pence taking his first steps into donald trump's world. what have the last 24 hours been like? >> very exciting. >> reporter: but di

straight to our justice correspondent pierre thomas.traordinary decision. the fbi director making clear no charges should be found but he went a long way in making the case the clinton administration in terms of the state department was lax in how they handled the classified information, there were in fact certain classified and top secret information that was sent and received an also, that the officials involved in it should have known that this information was classified and therefore not be sending it. the bottom line is they looked at precedent and found no case like it where prosecutors would have went for it and did not believe the justice department would have gone for it and the fbi director again was extraordinary in terms of making clear the process. he wanted people to know exactly what they did so that people would know it would be independent but acknowledged great debate about whether this was the appropriate decision. >> certainly will be a lot of debate. jonathan karl, this kind finding of the fbi that in many cases sec

let's get right to our senior justice correspondent pierre thomas. this decision also includes any individuals within the scope of the investigation. >> reporter: david, that's right. no charges for anyone. attorney general lynch just today, she met with comey and career prosecutors and accepted their recommendation that the investigation be closed and that no charges be brought against any individuals. this was expected. lynch, who has been talking heat over a chance meeting with former president clinton, said she would accept the recommendation of comey and the career prosecutors, and today, she dadid. david? >> pierre, think. >>> hillary clinton traveling to atlantic city today. abc's cecilia vega on the campaign tonight. >> reporter: hillary clinton today, taunting donald trump on his own turf. >> what he did for his businesses and his workers is nothing to brag about. in fact, it's shameful. >> reporter: right here in atlantic city, outside his shuddered trump plaza casino. trump's casinos once fixtures in this city. >> it's some crowd. good luc