he says he simply form got, david. >> pierre thomas. pierre, thank you. >>> overseas tonight, and to that deadly earthquake in japan. the urgent efforts under way to find the missing. the 5.5 magnitude quake rocking the city of osaka. witnesses say buildings shook for 30 seconds, some crumbling. people scrambling to evacuate. at least four people were killed, including a schoolgirl. more than 300 injured. tonight, the search for survivors, as more than 100,000 residents are without power or gas tonight. >>> back at home tonight, and a troubling new video from a woman who says her husband's tesla burst into flames. tonight, the ntsb now adds this case to other investigations involving tesla batteries. here's abc's chief national correspondent matt gutman tonight. >> reporter: tonight, the ntsb is sending a specialist to help investigate that car fire, jets of flame shooting out from beneath this tesla model s in los angeles. "west wing" star marry mccormack tweeting, "this is what happened to my husband and his car today. no accident, out

>> pierre thomas at the supreme court tonight. pierre, thank you. >> next, on his 500th day in office, president trump is claiming that he has, quote, the absolute right to parton himself. so, tonight here, our jon karl pressing the white house on this, asking, does the president plan to use that power to pardon on himself? >> reporter: today, a defiant president trump declared himself effectively immune from prosecution, tweeting, "i have the absolute right to pardon myself, but why would i do that when i've done nothing wrong?" later, white house press secretary sarah sanders refused to rule it out. >> thankfully, the president hasn't done anything wrong, and wouldn't have any need for a pardon. >> reporter: but does he absolutely rule out doing that? i mean, does he rule out ever issuing a pardon for himself? >> once again, thankfully, the president hasn't done anything wrong and therefore wouldn't need one. >> reporter: the top republican on the senate judiciary committee scoffed at the idea the president could pardon himself.

>> pierre thomas tonight. thank you. >>> there is an urgent effort under way at this hour to get the youngest victims from that volcano in guatemala to the u.s. for help. and look at this tonight. this satellite image of a village from before the volcanic eruption, and this image afterward. you can see the village is gone. burned, covered in ash now. abc's victor oquendo in guatemala on the effort to get those young victims here. >> reporter: tonight, more than 72 hours after guatemala's volcano of fire buried communities, hope is fading. officials suspending the search for survivors. days of rain and hot terrain making it just too dangerous. overnight, the u.s. military airlifting six children with life-threatening burns to a texas shriner's hospital for treatment. >> we also had some moments on the airplane where the kids, you know, weren't doing so well, and we had some great teams onboard to help, and we were all here to help each other. >> reporter: meanwhile, the images from the volcano are breathtaking.

abc's chief justice correspondent pierre thomas on the scene tonight. >> reporter: the shooting began just after 2:30 this afternoon in the newsroom of the annapolis "capital gazette" newspaper. the call going out for emergency help. >> several shots have been fired possible shotgun. at least ten shots heard. >> reporter: there was a massive response from multiple agencies. local police arriving within 60 seconds. >> all units, limit your p transmissions. do we have any kind of intel on our shooter? >> reporter: police then trying to get people out. adults could be seen coming out with their hands in the air, getting searched by police. >> police came through, grabbing the door. and next thing you know, he's like, you need to get out. and then we all ran out into the hallway. >> we're doing everything we can to get people out safe and we're trying to mine miimize the casualties. >> reporter: while inside, a police reporter at the newspaper, phil davis, tweeting his description of the horror unfolding. he said it "was like a war zone." tweeting, "a single shooter shot multiple people a

>> pierre thomas leading us off tonight. pierre, thank you. just moments ago, we heard from a eyewitness, a man who works at a business in that same building, right across the hall from the newsroom. he was on the phone when gunfire broke out, and he could see into the newsroom of "the capital gazette" as this was unfolding. here's what he saw. >> i saw a guy holding a gun, the door of "the capital gazette" had been blown to pieces. it was in shattered pieces all on the carpet. and this guy was holding what looked like a big shotgun, and moving across the entrance of "the capital gazette" office, pointing the gun deeper into the office, like he was targeting people. i mean, i only looked at him for a second. i ducked my head back behind the wall as soon as i saw the guy initially. and i saw a young woman who looked like she'd been hurt. she was on the ground. there was a bunch of blood on the floor, so -- we stayed in our office until a second group of police officers showed up. they actually broke down our office door and then they escorted u

abc's chief justice correspondent pierre thomas leading us off from the fbi. >> reporter: tonight, the justice department's independent watchdog handing down a searing rebuke of fbi director james comey, finding the former fbi director made serious errors in his handling of the hillary clinton e-mail investigation. the report calls out comey's surprise july 2016 news conference clearing clinton. >> we cannot find a case that would support bringing criminal charges on these facts. >> reporter: the inspector general found it "extraordinary," and "insubordinate" that comey refused to tell his justice department bosses what he would say, finding he had "usurped the authority of the attorney general." at that same news conference, comey criticized clinton. >> there is evidence that they were extremely careless in their handling of very sensitive, highly classified information. >> reporter: the inspector general determined those statements "violated long-standing department practice and protocol" since she was not being charged. the report also taking aim at that october surprise, comey anno

here's abc's chief justice correspondent pierre thomas tonight. >> reporter: hillary clinton was on a flight to iowa when it happened. fbi director james comey revealing he had reopened the investigation into her e-mails, a stunning october surprise just 11 days before the election. >> i learned about it on the campaign plane, and i was stunned, to be honest. i didn't know what to think about it, because i knew there was nothing there. i was just dumbfounded. i thought, what is he doing? >> reporter: clinton huddled with aides for nearly an hour. >> secretary clinton, any investigation?o on >> reporter: president trump, now one of comey's biggest critics, at the time, heaped praise on the director. >> and it took cguts for directr comey to make the move that he made. >> reporter: the justice department's inspector general has been looking into comey's decision, and now, sources familiar wh draft of his report tell abc news a senior justice department official hate urged comey not to reveal he was reopening the clinton probe so close to the election. that doing so would violate long-st

abc's chief justice correspondent pierre thomas tonight. >> reporter: he's been under house arrest fors, but tonight, president trump's former campaign chairman, paul manafort, may soon be heading to jail. federal prosecutors now accusing him of witness tampering. prosecutors say manafort and a person believed to be a former russian intelligence officer contacted two witnesses by phone and using encrypted text messages, trying to get them to lie about his lobbying work for ukrainian politicians with ties to vladimir putin. one witness making the explosive claim manafort was trying to, quote, suborn perjury. >> did you commit a crime? >> reporter: manafort is charged with bank fraud and money laundering. it's been nearly a year since the fbi raided his home while he was still in bed. >> i've always found paul manafort to be a very decent man, but i thought that was a very -- it's pretty tough stuff. to wake him up, perhaps his family was there. i think that's pretty tough stuff. >> reporter: but over the weekend, a very different tone. the president fuming the fbi should have informed h

pierre thomas starts us off. >> reporter: paul manafort headed to court today facing the prospect of losing his freedom. >> lock him up! lock him up! lock him up! >> reporter: and that's exactly what happened. federal judge amy jackson revoked manafort's bail, immediately sending him to jail. already facing charges of money laundering and fraud, he was recently accused of witness tampering. special counsel robert mueller claiming manafort and a man with alleged ties to russian intelligence tried to convince two witnesses to lie. today, the clearly angry judge told manafort, "i can't turn a blind eye to these allegations." with that, manafort was escorted out of court as his shocked wife looked on. u.s. marshals handing her his belt, tie, and wallet. >> mrs. manafort, are you going to visit paul in prison? >> reporter: his lawyer, stunned. >> mr. downing, do you have any comment on what happened today? any comment at all? >> reporter: this morning at the white house, president trump distancing himself from his former campaign chairman. >> manafort has nothing to do with our campaign.

pierre thomas has the latest. >> reporter: paul manafort headed to court facing the prospect of losingedom. and that is exactly what happened. federal judge amy jackson revoked manafort's bail. immediately sending him to jail. already facing charges of money laundering and fraud, he was recently accused of witness tampering. robert mueller claiming manafort and a man with alleged ties to russian intelligence tried to convince two witnesses to lie. clearly angry judge told manafort i can't turn a blind eye to these allegations. with that, manafort was escorted out of court as a shocked wife looked on. u.s. marshals handing her his belt, tie and wallet. >> are you going to visit paul in prison? >> reporter: his lawyer stunned. >> do you have any comment on what happened today? any comment at all? >> reporter: president trump distancing himself from his former campaign chairman. >> he worked for me, what, 49 days or something? very short period of time. >> reporter: manafort was actually with team trump for 143 days. and for more than three months, he ran the campaign playing a key role a

pierre thomas, abc new, washington. >>> in florida there is an investigation into a terrifying rollerident that sent two riders plunging to the ground and stranded many others. we know the ride was just inspected hours before it derailed. abc news reporter steve osunsami as the details. >> reporter: state investigators are searching for answers after the roller coaster slipped off its tracks 35 feet above ground. the sand blaster roller coaster is an institution on the boa boardwalk here. passengers strapped in feared for their lives. two were thrown from their seats. >> everyone started screaming. everyone called 911. >> reporter: randy francis was this one of the two year cars that nearly fell to the ground. >> after just a few minutes, i really noticed that something was not right. it was shaking side to side. we were about halfway down when the cars started falling off. >> reporter: authorities had to bring in a team that specializes in high rise rerescues. in all nine had to be rushed to a trauma center. earlier that day, state inspectors gave the ride a passing grade, saying it

pierre thomas, abc news, washington. >>> apple has signed oprah winfrey to a multiyear deal to create it won't affect the contract she has with own, the television network she launched in 2011. apple has yet to begin streaming content which will compete with amazon and netflix. netflix recently signed barack obama and michelle to a production deal. >>> women appear to be giving up the heels. "new york times" speculates the "me too" movement might be behind the decline in high heel sales as more women choose to dress for themselves rather than being sexually appealing to men. a new survey from a san francisco clothing resale company called thread up adds to growing evidence that a lot of women are switching out their high heeled shoes for more comfortable options. the company says there is a spike in the number of customers selling their high heels. >> so over the past three months, we've seen a 38% increase in the number of heels sent to thread up. >> at the same time, thread up is seeing a 50% increase in sneaker sales on its site. those statistics fit with a recent retail study show

as pierre thomas reports he can reporter: today the president clearly refling in his power to pardon and signaling he's ready to use it. >> we are looking at literally thousands of names. >> reporter: tossing out the name of one of thell time, the late muhammad ali was convicted of draft evasion. >> i will not go 10,000 miles from here to help murder and kill. >> reporter: and stripped of his boxing title. >> he was not very popular then. his memory is very popular now. >> reporter: not so fast. ali's conviction was overturned by the u.s. court nearly 50 years ago. ali's attorney releasing a statement thanniking the presidt for the sentiment saying the pardon is unnecessary. it comes two days after the president commuted the sentence of alice johnson serving life for a nonviolent drug attempt. >> i want to tnk donald trump. >> reporter: the president saying more prisoners without famous names could see their sentence cut short. >> i would get more thrill out of pardoning people nobody knows. >> reporter: he also addressed the nfl players -- >> i'm going to ask them to recommend to me

our chief justice correspondent pierre thomas has more on the story. morning, pierre. >> reporter: amy, good morning. that report is searing and embarrassing for the justice department and the fbi. but new fbi director chris wray was adamant that the mistakes did not change the outcome of the investigations. he admitted though that the report requires all fbi employees to take a hard look at themselves. fbi director christopher wray acknowledging the blistering assessment of that new inspector general report. >> the report does identify errors of judgment, violations of or even disregard for policy. >> reporter: the inspector general concludes former fbi director james comey should have never held that press conference without telling his bosses at the justice department he was going to recommend that hillary clinton should not be charged in the e-mail probe. >> they do not know what i'm about to say. >> reporter: the inspector general called that decision extraordinary and insubordinate. at that infamous pre conference comey also criticized clinton. >

. >> pierre thomas here with us. we're hearing the editor called the police in 2013 about ramos. >> that's right david. police responded and interviewed ramos. no charges were filed. the police chief said employees didn't want to even flame situation. an officer involved wrote he didn't believe mr. ramos was a threat to the newspaper's employees. >> pierre thank you. >>> we're following two developing headlines friday night. was there a security breach involving the president on air force one? was a comedian able to get through the line? did the president think he was a senator? >>> the president also revealing his possible picks down to the supreme court. the one question he said he probably will not ask. here's terry moran. >> reporter: tonight president trump reveals he narrowed his list to five names, two of them women. he said he'll announce his choice on july 9th. for millions of americans the battle comes down to abortion. trump has the power to forge a court that will over turn roe v. wade. >> if we put anoth

our chief justice correspondent pierre thomas has more on that from washington. morning, pierre. >> reporter: amy, good morning. michael cohen's relationship with the president is being put to the test. there are indications this morning that he's considering cooperating with federal investigators. >> have you talked to mr. trump about a pardon? >> reporter: he's under incredible pressure. in april, fbi agents raided michael cohen's apartment, office and hotel room, seizing documents and more than a dozen phones and electronic devices. and now sources telling abc news cohen is likely to cooperate with authorities. and this morning, word he's parting ways with his own attorneys. among the reasons, a source says concern over payment of legal fees. president trump livid over cohen becoming a target. >> i just heard that they broke into the office of one of my personal attorneys, a good man, and it's a disgraceful situation. >> reporter: the u.s. attorney for the southern district of new york is investigating cohen's personal business dealings including his role in f

here's pierre thomas. >> reporter: he was one of president trump's closest confidantes, at his side for more than a decade. his longtime lawyer and fixer, michael cohen. >> i'm obviously very loyal and very dedicated to mr. trump. i will do anything to protect mr. trump. >> reporter: that loyalty is now being put to the test. sources telling abc news cohen is likely to cooperate with federal prosecutors. word he is parting ways with his own attorneys, among the reasons, a source says, a concern over payment of legal fees. he is under incredible pressure. in april, fbi agents raided his apartment, office, and hotel room, seizing documents and more than a dozen phones and electronic devices. >> so i just heard that they broke into the office of one of my personal attorneys, a good man. and it's a disgraceful situation. >> reporter: the u.s. attorney for new york's southern district is investigating cohen's personal business dealings, including his role facilitating a hush payment to stormy daniels, who claims she had an affair with president trump. >> why did michael cohen make it if ther

pierre thomas has more. >> reporter: he was one of president trump's closest confidantes, at his side decade. his long-time lawyer and fixer, michael cohen. >> i'm obviously very loyal and dedicated to mr. trump. i'll do anything to protect mr. trump. >> reporter: that loyalty is now being put to the test. sources telling abc news, cohen is likely to cooperate with federal prosecutors. word he's parting ways with his own attorneys. among the reasons, a source says concern over payment of legal fees. he's under incredible pressure. in april, fbi agents raided his apartment, office and hotel room seizing documents and more than a dozen phones and electronic devices. >> i just heard that they broke into the office of one of my personal attorneys. good man. and it's a disgraceful situation. >> reporter: the u.s. attorney for new york's southern district is investigating cohen's personal business dealings, including his role facilitating a hush payment to stormy daniels, who claims she had an affair with president trump. as the u.s. attorney's office digs into cohen's close relationship wi

pierre thomas has the details. >> reporter: the justice department's independent watchdog handing down fbi director james comey, finding the former fbi director made serious errors in the handling of the hillary clinton e-mail investigation. the report called out the press conference clearing hillary clinton. >> we cannot afford a case that would support criminal charges. >> reporter: the inspector general found it extra ordinary and insubordinate that comey refused to tell his justice department bosses what he would say. he had usurped the authority of his bosses. he criticized clinton. >> there is evidence that they were extremely careless in their handling of highly classified information. >> reporter: the attorney general said those statements violated long-standing practice and protocol since she was not being charged. the report also taking aim at the october surprise, comey announcing he was reopening the clinton probe 11 days before the election. hillary clinton believed it cost her the election. >> i always thought it would be close. i didn't expect to be totally ambushed at t

here's pierre thomas. >> reporter: protests on the steps of the supreme court after a ruling in favorf a colorado baker, who turned away a gay couple. jack phillips had refused to design a cake for a same-sex wedding, arguing it would violate his religious beliefs as a christian. >> it's not just a cake. this is a religious ceremony that goes in direct conflict with my faith. >> reporter: charlie craig says they left the cake shop in 2012 devastated. >> i was shocked. neither one of us had ever been treated this way before at a business. >> reporter: the colorado civil rights commission found that phillips had violated state laws against discrimination, but the supreme court took issue with commissioner describing phillips' beliefs as irrational. gay rights activists taking comfort in a limited decision. >> it was a very narrow decision that only applies to the unique facts of this particular case. in no way did the supreme court undermine our nation's civil rights laws. >> reporter: the nation's views on same-sex marriage evolving. the most recent abc news poll that found 81% of amer

abc's chief law and justice correspondent, pierre thomas, is on the story for us this morning. pierre? >> reporter: paula and dan, good morning. paul manafort finds himself waking up in jail today, likely to be there for weeks, if not, months before his trials even start. paul manafort facing jeering onlookers. what could be his last moments of freedom before his trial. and that's exactly what happened. federal judge amy berman jackson revoked manafort's bail, immediately sending him to jail. already under house arrest with travel restrictions in connection with money laundering and bank fraud charges, the former trump campaign chairman was recently accused of obstruction of justice. the special counsel claims the man who has ties to russian intelligence contacted two witnesses and attempted to get them to lie. expressing her frustration with the alleged conduct, the judge told manafort, i have no appetite for this. in the end, i can't turn a blind eye to these allegations. with that, manafort was escorted out of the court as his shocked wife and friends looked on. a jarring mom

that woman's attorney speaking to our pierre thomas about that day in court. >> how angry was he? >> incredibly angry. the malice dripped off this man in court. >> reporter: ramos sued the paper for defamation but it was dismissed. reporte hell awaits and to two editors it would be nicer to see them cease breathing. one of those editors, tom marquardt. >> when i heard his name, it didn't surprise me. >> reporter: president trump offering these words friday. >> this attack shocked the conscience of our nation and filled our hearts with grief. journalists like all americans should be free from the fear of being violently attacked while doing their job. >> reporter: and it's just incredible how determined the gazette staff is. they have not skipped a single day of publishing this paper so i want you to look at this video right now because "the capital gazette" staff sent thisr itws them printing t saturday edi of the paper shin smuch strength in the faceysbao >> g, k u. a de rpe to the "t citte." ch.a, ha you very real appreciate it. >>> president trump, you saw him in gio's piece, h

caputo was asked about it by pierre thomas last month. >> did you ever see or witness any contacts withussians? >> nobody ever asked me about russia, nobody ever spoke to me about how russia might help. >> reporter: stone said he ultimately did not agree to pay for dirt on clinton. rudy giuliani claiming the president was not aware of the contact. >> no, i haven't talked to roger. he's never talked to the president about it. so where's the collusion? and he said it was a waste of time. >> reporter: stone told abc news, i never discussed this approach which i now believe was an fbi setup with president trump. stone and caputo both alleging that it was an fbi trap. greenberg had previously worked as an informant. he told the post he hasn't worked fbi since 2013. the latest means that 11 trump associates admitted to having contact with russians during the campaign. the president tweeting witch hunt. there was no russian collusion. giuliani says it is meuller's team that is showing bias. >> this is a case where it's crying out for someone to investigate the investigators. >> reporter: stone

pierre thomas has more from annapolis. >> reporter: the shooting began in the newsroom of the annapoliste newspaper, a call going out for emergency help. >> several shots have been fired. um, possible shotgun. >> reporter: there was a massive response. local police arriving within 60 seconds. >> all units limit your transmissions. do we have any kind of intel on our shooter? >> while male with a ponytail. >> reporter: police try to get people out, adults coming out with their hands in the air being searched by police. >> knocking on the door, checking to make sure we are okay. next thing he's like you need to get out. you need to get out. >> we're doing everything we can to get people out safe and minimize casualties. >> reporter: while inside, phil davis tweeting his description of the horror unfolding. he said it was like a warzone, tweeting a single shooter shot multiple people at my office. some of whom are dead. then he tweets gunman shot through the glass door to the office and opened fire on multiple employees. can't say much more and don't want to declare anyone dead, but it's b

our chief justice correspondent pierre thomas has more. he's there in washington for us. od morning, pierre. >> reporter: robin, good morning. that's right, word of yet another contact between an associate of president trump and the russians. the special counsel's team is asking questions, another sign that the investigation remains active and intense. roger stone, a longtime friend and confidante of president trump has denied having any knowledge of any collusion with the russians before the 2016 election. >> i still have seen no evidence of russian collusion. >> reporter: but now new word that stone met with a russian claiming to have dirt on hillary clinton and offering it to stone in exchange for $2 million. stone says he rejected it immediately. stone did not disclose the may 2016 florida meeting to congressional investigators when questioned last year. neither did former trump campaign aide mike caputo who reportedly helped arrange the meeting. >> they have not told the truth to congress and they should be prosecuted for it. >> reporter: last week, stone and caputo s

let's go to abc's chief justice correspondent, pierre thomas, in washington with more on the gunman and how they took him down. good morning, pierre. >> reporter: cecilia, good morning. police say the suspect was specifically targeting the newspaper and came with a deadly plan. and carried it out in cold blood. in the midst of a mayhem an initial description of the alleged shooter as police race to the scene. >> all units, limit your transmissions. do we have any kind of intel on our shooter? >> white male with a ponytail. >> reporter: witnesses say the suspect, armed with a shotgun, had blasted through a glass door, entering the newsroom of "the capital gazette." two injured. and those five murdered. authorities said he had created a distraction apparently to make it difficult for victims and police, creating more chaos. >> it was actually canisters of smoke grenades that he used inside of the building when he entered. >> reporter: the county's top official said the suspect had put down his weapon and was hiding under a desk when discovered by police. sources telling abc news there was

the former trump campaign chair is now accused of trying to tamper with witnesses and pierre thomas isracking the case. good morning, pierre. >> reporter: george, good morning. that's right. in a dramatic move overnight the special counsel is accusing president trump's former campaign chairman of witness tampering and asking the court to put him in jail. the government claims paul manafort, president trump's former campaign manager, attempted to impede the special counsel's investigation by contacting two witnesses using encrypted text messages. one of those witnesses making the damning claim manafort's contact was an effort to suborn perjury suggesting he wanted them to lie to robert mueller's investigators about his lobbying to ukrainian officials tied to vladimir putin. he did not want them to know his lobbying work was being done illegally inside the united states. it's a crime to lobby inside the u.s. for a foreign power without registering with the government and mueller's investigators have accused manafort of failing to register as a foreign had agent and of secretly funneling

this report expected to be released any day, and our chief justice correspondent pierre thomas has thels. >> reporter: good morning. former fbi director james comey known for his fierce independence, likely taking heat in the upcoming report for exceeding his authority. >> i'm here to give you an fbi update of secretary clinton's use of a personal e-mail system. >> reporter: that bombshell conference at the heart of criticism from the inspector general in a draft of the highly anticipated report. sources telling abc news the inspector general takes comey to task for not telling his bosses at the justice department that he had decided clinton should not be prosecuted. >> i have not coordinated this statement or reviewed it in any way with the department of justice or any other part of the government. they do not know what i'm about to say. >> reporter: comey has defended his decision, wanting to separate the fbi from allegations of bias lobbed at the justice department. >> our system is, in fact, rigged. it's totally rigged, okay? it's corrupt. it's rigged. it's disgraceful. >> reporter