abc's steve osunsami tonight with the son of marten luther jr. >> my i've lived here for 15 years and seen nick li anything like this. it's surreal. >> reporter: the images are shocking, disturbing, upsetting, confusing. to many people in this country, it doesn't make sense to burn down someone else's business and set fire to streets in your own neighborhood. >> no justice, no peace! prosecute the police! >> reporter: all in the name of justice. >> we must confront our shortcomings with both hugh mmi as well as hope. we must restore the peace so that we can do this hard work together. >> reporter: americans with more liberties than others have been asking why? why do this for more than half a century. and the answers are always bourne from america's original sin. first slavery, and after that, jim crow laws meant to keep black americans in their place. then came the civil unrest of the '60s, when most black americans are getting second class had educations from segregatedfr risring to vote in south and still couldn't sit at white lunch counters. in 1968, it was the execution of the gr

>> all right, steve osunsami tonight. steve, thank you. >>> when we come back here, images coming in now. fires destroying homes in florida. >>> and the late season snowstorm coming in parts of the northeast. why the heart beats the pulse races why the weight of the world is carried with a smile. and where the comfort that's so desperately sought, is found. this is what's worth protecting embracing. and ensuring for others, especially now. this is why medicare from blue cross blue shield continues to improve what we can do for you. putting over 80 years of healthcare expertise into action. and making coverage even more accessible in times when it's needed most. we're here for you now, and always. this is the benefit of blue. copd and lung cancer fromheart smoking. today, he's being tested to see if the lung cancer has spread. he may be the one getting the test, but we both live with the results. [announcer] you can quit. for free help, call 1-800-quit now. i came across sofi and it was the best decision of my life. i feel

>> steve osunsami, thank you.other, wanda cooper-jones along with her attorney lee merritt. thank you both for being with us. wan wanda, our hearts and our prayers are going out to you and your family. how are you holding up? >> i'm managing. it's really hard. there's nothing i can say. it's really been hard. >> that's so beyond understandable. the video is so disturbing. as a mother, i cannot imagine knowing that that was out there. have you been able to bring yourself to watch it? >> no, i haven't. i don't think i'll ever be in a mental state where i can actually watch the video. i had others that watched it, shared what they saw and that just was enough. >> i want to bring lee into this because no arrests have been made. that's certainly something we have been covering. you're calling for arrests immediately. but prosecutors have said that they first have to convene a grand jury, and because of covid-19, they say that cannot happen until june. what's your response to that? >> prosecutors will need a grand jury

here's abc's steve osunsami. >> reporter: these are what many would argue are the obvious cases, thegreat unfairness of eric garner, robbed of his right to breathe. the injustice of the five bullets shot in walter scott's back. philando castile, brianna taylor. you can debate whether michael brown or terrence kutcher lived perfect lives before they were killed. but what black americans and others have been saying for years is that the reason they're dead today is because of the way so many in this country see black people. >> we live in a society that still sees black people as violent, as dangerous, as immoral, as untrustworthy. so, when they have interactions with law enforcement, we don't get a presumption of innocence. >> reporter: asiehsa young is a mother of five who lives in suburban philadelphia. she says seeing men killed this way, ahmaud arbery in georgia, is deeply disturbing. >> when i saw the ahmaud video, actually seeing him get shot and running off and seeing him fall, the first thing that came to my mind was, what if that was my son? >> i can't just go out and enjoy m

here's steve osunsami tonight. >> reporter: this is the moment that many felt was months overdue. within 36 hours of taking over this case, state investigators arrested gregory and travis mcmichael, accusing them of aggravated assault and the murder of this young man, 25d maudery, s his death on a see >> i'm vy comfortablprable caus in this case for felony murder. >> reporter: the father and son made their first court appearance today. as a former law enforcement officer, gregory mcmichael is well known in the local courts, which led to two prosecutors here removing themselves from the investigation. >> are you gregory mcmichael? >> yes. >> you are charged with the crime of felony murder. >> reporter: police say the mcmichaels are the men with guns in the shocking cell phone recording. they told police that arbery looked like this man seen in these surveillance images from some time before the shooting, given to abc news by a local lawyer. he says the person here is neighbho osatilla shores. but according to a local newspaper, the only report of any burglary since january was a gu

here's steve osunsami. >> reporter: people outraged by the killing seen in this cell phone video are talking tonight about the autopsy. it shows that 25-year-old ahmaud arbery in brunswick, georgia, had no alcohol or drugs in his system, and was shot once in the hand and twice in the chest. and now the neighbor who recorded the video of the young man's killing is talking too. >> i wish i hadn't have been there, but once again, if i hadn't have been there, there would've beeideo>>r: february 23rd when travis mcmichael and his father gregory, a former police officer, a seen ing the unarmed young black man in what they told police was an attempted citizen's arrest. why he was recording he won't say. but he tells us he's fully cooperating with state authorities, who've taken over the case from local prosecutors. >> i don't have a relationship with the mcmichaels. you know, that's just not something that should have happened. >> reporter: arbery's family says he left for a jog from his home here, and stopped about two miles away to walk through this home construction site. the home of one

here's steve osunsami. >> reporter: this is the recording of the killing on a street in south georgia that has people around world outraged and has a prosecutor investigating. the young man seen jogging towards his death is 25-year-old ahmaud arbery. the father and son with the guns in the white pickup truck are gregory and travis mcmichael. they explained to police that they believed that arbery was responsible for a number of break-ins in their neighborhood, and were trying to make a citizen's arrest when this happened on february 23rd. gregory mcmichael, who police say is seen here in the bed of the truck, is a former investigator with the local district attorney, and a former local police officer, which has complicated this case. >> i'm out here at satilla shores, there's a black male running down the street. >> where at satilla shores? >> i don't know what street we're on. stop. watch that. stop! >> reporter: it is now nearly 2 1/2 months later, and no one has been arrested. the case has bounced from prosecutor to prosecutor because two of them had some prior connection to the mc

here again, steve osunsami. >> reporter: state authorities in georgia who've taken over this case fromlocal prosecutors are now asking the u.s. department of justice to step in, and look into the "handling" of this investigation. the family of 25-year-old ahmaud arbery, who is seen meeting his death in this violent recording, has been calling for federal hate crimes charges since their son was killed on this south georgia street in february. travis mcmichael and his father gregory are now charged with murdering the unarmed young black man in what they argue was a citizen's arrest. gregory mcmichael used to work in local law enforcement and it's the actions of these two district attorneys, jackie johnson and george barnhill, that are now under the federal microscope. neither filed charges in the case. both removed themselves because of their apparent connections to the gunmen. and barnhill argued in a letter that there was a "fight over the shotgun," and that the victim "initiated the fight." georgia authorities have replaced the white prosecutors with this woman, district attorney joye

steve osunsami at the cdc in atlanta tonight. >> reporter: what you're seeing here tonight are the volunteers who are helping everyone on the planet by agreeing to test a possible vaccine for the coronavirus. >> i don't want to be sitting down, not doing anything, when i could be potentially helping out. >> reporter: they're hoping the university of oxford in england that this vaccine will work and be ready by september. it's one of more than 100 that scientists around the world are rushing to develop. here in the u.s. the trump administration is calling it operation warp speed, pushing scientists, drug makers, and the military to race a vaccine through research and into production, ensure its safety, and have enough doses for every american by the end of the year. >> i hope we're going to have a vaccine, and we're going to fast-track it like you've never seen before. >> reporter: there are currently eight possible vaccines in human trials, and two of them are here stateside. anthony campisi is a volunteer at one of them at the university of pennsylvania. >> it feels really gratifying to be a

here's steve osunsami. >> what's your name? >> ahmaud. >> reporter: lawyers for the family of ahmaud arbery worry that these police camera videos that have suddenly surfaced from 2017 will appeal to racist stereotypes of young black men. the shooting victim's family says that this one shows another instance where the former high school athlete was seen as suspicious, this time by glynn county police, who see him sitting alone in his car and suspect drugs. >> i'm not here to ruin your day. i'm here to look for criminal activity. that's all i'm doing. >> criminal activity? i'm in a park. [ bleep ] you talking about? >> reporter: another officer arrives, pulling out a stun gun. >> i think i see something plastic in the thing over here. >> where? you can't go in my car. >> you're not allowing me to search your car? >> you can't go in my car. >> get your hand out of your pocket! >> reporter: but the stun gun failed to fire. in the end, he was never charged with a crime and left the scene. nearly two weeks later, he's stopped again,

and steve osunsami on what comes next, and the timeline now. >> reporter: it's the break the whole world has been hoping for. an american company working on a vaccine for the coronavirus says that all 45 of their test patients tonight are producing antibodies that fight the disease. >> it's been almost nothing. literally, it's been like getting a flu shot. >> reporter: norman hulme of atlanta feels great this evening, and that matters to everyone because today he received his second dose of a vaccine being produced by moderna labs. his first was a month ago. >> the ability to have one small role in getting beyond the pandemic is an amazing opportunity. >> reporter: in these early results, those 45 patients developed the same level of antibodies as someone who has recovered from covid-19. the company then tested the blood of eight of those patients against the actual coronavirus, and in all eight cases, the virus was killed. >> but are those antibodies likely to be protective, are they neutralizing the virus? and actually, we saw in all cases they were, which was really encouraging. >> re

again tonight, steve osunsami. >> reporter: state investigators who've taken over this case after local authorities were accused of looking the other way are listening closely tonight to a newly released 911 call, made by one of the accused killers nearly two weeks before what happened here. where he and his father, a former police officer, are accused of murdering this unarmed young black man. >> what's your name and phone number, sir? >> travis mcmichael. >> reporter: police say that on february 11th, travis mcmichael was driving past a house under construction a few doors down from his home when he saw someone inside with a flashlight who he felt looked suspicious. >> and i had a pistol stolen january 1st, actually. and, you know, he's -- i've never seen this guy before in the neighborhood. >> reporter: these security camera videos from inside that construction site do show a young black man repeatedly visiting and walking around. and in this one, from the day of the shooting, the family of ahmaud arbery confirms that this is him. but in every recording, he's seen walking away empty

deaths are falling in most places, there are still hot spots appearing across the country and steve osunsamifrom outside the cdc in atlanta with more. good morning, steve. >> reporter: good morning to you, robin. today in ohio, for example, restaurants can open to table service inside. here in georgia the re-opening began weeks ago. but there are parts of this country that are still late to this pandemic. in alabama, for example, this morning they're seeing their highest number of cases. the re-opening and the comeback is nationwide this morning. authorities in all 50 states are now easing restrictions meant to slow down the spread of the coronavirus. >> how may i help you? >> reporter: the number of people dying and getting sick every day is generally falling but local outbreaks that no one saw coming still have health officials worried. >> that's really our focus right now, working with every state to really help them identify where these clusters came from historically. >> reporter: they're keeping a close watch on sick workers at food processing plants in nebraska, oklahoma, iowa and vir

steve osunsami is in atlanta with the latest. orning, steve. >> reporter: good morning to you. state investigators who have taken over this case have all but promised there would be more arrests and we are hearing for the first time from the person who recorded that video that we've all seen. this witness tells us that he is cooperating with investigators and will continue to do so. we are hearing this morning from the neighbor of the two accused murders who worked at a local hardware store who recorded this cell phone video that shows the last jog and the last breath of 25-year-old ahmaud arbery, a former athlete. >> yeah, i wish i hadn't been there, but once again, if i hadn't been there, there would have been no video. >> reporter: william roddy bryant wouldn't say why he was recording but says he willingly turned his phone over to investigators. >> if the video wasn't there, i don't think there would be an outcome that anybody would be satisfied with. but i'm not proud that i shot the video but maybe it helps in the end. >> re

steve osunsami is in atlanta with this story for us. ve. >> reporter: good morning, robin. the governor of georgia and other state officials who have no doubt seen this video are all demanding thorough investigations and there are calls this morning for the u.s. justice department to investigate. people are outraged this morning after seeing this cell phone video that was shared around the world tuesday. it shows the moment from late february when 25-year-old ahmaud arbery was killed. there have been no arrests in the case which was put on hold in part because of the coronavirus shutdown, but now a prosecutor is asking a grand jury to decide if there should be charges. in the video arbery is seen jogging towards two men with guns who are stopped in a white pickup truck. shots are fired, and you see the young black man fall to his death. >> he was just jogging and his life shouldn't have ended the way it ended. >> reporter: according to the police report, the two white men in the truck are gregory and travis mcmichael, a father and son, a

here's steve osunsami. >> reporter: investigators this morning are listening through this newly released11 call made by one of the two men accused of murdering 25-year-old ahmaud arbery. >> what is the name and phone number, sir? >> travis mcmichael. >> reporter: mcmichael and his father gregory, a former police officer, are accused of gunning down the young, unarmed black man during what police say they called a citizen's arrest. the 911 call was made february 11th, nearly two weeks prior to the killing. travis mcmichael is heard telling police that he saw someone he felt looked suspicious inside a house under construction. >> i just saw a guy running into a house being built, two houses down from me. when i turned around, he took off running into the house. >> are you okay? >> yeah, yeah. it just startled me. when i turned around, i saw him, and backed up, he reached into his pocket and ran into the house. so i don't know if he's armed or not. >> reporter: these security camera videos from inside that construction site do show a young black man repeatedly visiting and walking around. b

steve osunsami has the latest. he joins us this morning from atlanta. good morning, steve. >> reporter: good morning to you, robin. this state's attorney general is asking, of course, the u.s. justice department, as you said, to look into this case, but in particular, to look into the actions of the two prosecutors who did not issue charges in this case and who removed themselves from this investigation because of their connections to the two accused murderers, one of them a former police officer. state investigators who have taken over this case from county authorities are this morning looking at new videos that appear to show ahmaud arbery in the moments before he was shot and killed by travis mcmichael and his father gregory who spent a career in law enforcement working for local prosecutors. the two are charged with murder last week, nearly two and a half months after this killing was recorded on a cell phone in february. they say they were trying to make a citizen's arrest when they say this young black man fought them. according to police, the mcmi

steve osunsami has the latest. >> reporter: the two men in this violent video that has angered most peopleho have seen it are now under arrest this morning. gregory and travis mcmichael, a father and son, are seen here being taken into custody in photos from "the daily mail." state investigators who came in and took over the case days ago have charged them both with assault and murder of 25-year-old ahmaud arbery. >> this is long overdue and this is just one step toward justice with a long way to go. >> reporter: detectives are looking through every second of the cell phone video that shows the young black man jogging through a south georgia neighborhood near his home in february when he runs into this white pick-up truck. >> there's a black male running down the street. >> reporter: according to police, the two men now charged were waiting for him with their guns and say they believe he was the same person seen on security cameras breaking into homes. they chased him here. >> there's a guy in a house right now. >> was he just on the premises and not supposed to be? >> he's been caught on