abc's tara palmeri joins us now with the latest. tara, good morning. what a big moment. >> reporter: right, good morning, diane and kendis. that's right. the world is watching this historic meeting because it lays the groundwork for president trump's meeting with kim jong-un. kim actually joked that he hopes that this meeting means he'll no longer be waking up his neighbors in the south with missile launches. this morning, a historic step forward in the decades long standoff between north and south korea. they aim to sign a peace treaty by the end of the year. this, after the first time if 60 years that a north key yan leader stepped into south korea. now the two leaders are holding hands. walking toward into the south, greeted by cheers, and then unexpectedly walking back into the north to even more applause. north korean leader kim jong-un and south korean leader moon jae-in talking about future peace. the south's invite to the north to take part in the seoul olympics was one of the first steps forward to normalizing relations. the summit focused on

>> tara palmeri tonight, thank you. >>> and this quick programming note. martha raddatz goes one-on-one with homeland security adviser tom boss seert tomorrow on "thi week." >>> new details emerging from a deadly incident in germany, a van plowing into a popular bar in a popular university town. abc's jennifer eccleston on what we're learning about that deadly attack. >> reporter: tonight, a bizarre and terrifying scene in muenster, germany. the driver mowing down dozens of people outside of a packed bar on a sunny saturday afternoon. the rampage leaving two dead and injuring at least 20. this witness say, "you heard a bang, screams and the police arrived and everyone was sent out." the driver, a german national, committing suicide, according to police, shooting himself minutes after the attack. the driver's identity not released. the motive under investigation, but police saying there is no indication yet of ties to islamic extremists. tonight, the picturesque university town in lockdown, police beefing up security asking all residents and visitors to avo

abc's tara palmeri has more. good morning. >> reporter: good morning, diane and kendis. that's right. the president clearly frustrated by the obstacles to building a wall along the mexican border has used the recent uptick in border crossings to make his case. president trump in west virginia literally throwing away his speech on tax reform. >> this was going to be my remarks. it would have taken about two minutes but what the -- that would have been a little boring. >> reporter: instead riffing on one of his favorite topic, immigration, as a caravan of migrants seek political asylum president trump ordered the national guard to the border. he repeated his controversial line that mexicans are rapists. >> you remember my opening remarks. everybody said, oh, he was so tough and i used the word rape. and, yes, it came out where this journey coming up, women are raped at levels that nobody has ever seen before. >> reporter: women and girls crossing the border do face the threat of sexual violence. a 2010 amnesty reported that 60% are at risk but the leader of the caravan say

abc's tara palmeri reporting from florida tonight. >> reporter: tonight, growing calls for epa chief scott pruitt to resign. this, following abc's reports that he scored a sweetheart real estate deal at a condo owned by the wife of a top lobbyist with energy clints. >> you don't want to get tangled up with the industries you're supposed to be regulating and that's what appears to be going on here. >> reporter: now more than a dozen other democrats, calling for pruitt to lose his job. abc news contributor chris ruddy met with president trump this weekend and said pruitt's not necessarily the next to go. >> the president i think looks holistically at their whole job performance and i think he'll apply that same formula to scott pruitt. he's also not somebody who's going to throw somebody overboard just because there's one issue. >> reporter: but pruitt's been under scrutiny for months over lavish travel spending and installing a $40,000 secure phone booth in his office. the latest revelation, that he paid just $50 per night for one room in this condo, mere blocks from the u.s. capitol,

>> thank you, tara palmeri. we want to bring in george stephanopoulos who is going to be hosting "this week." george. >> good morning. >> happy easter sunday. >> my easter is next week. >> that's right. we wanted to get it in. >> the president's fight with amazon. a, why now? is this a winning strategy? >> it depends on what the strategy is. i'm not sure there is a strategy to this. we know that amazon pays taxes in more than 45 states. we know amazon is profitable to the post office. it doesn't cost the post office money. you put the facts on the table. we know after the president's first attack this week his administration came out and said we're not planning any action against amazon whatsoever. it's not clear what the end game is. what else do we know? we know the president doesn't like jeff bezos, the owner of amazon. because he also bought the "washington post." it often has critical reporting of the white house. if he thinks this is going to get the "washington post" to go easier he's mistaken. >> let me

we start here, though, with abc's tara palmeri who is in washington covering both events. tara, good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning, dan and paula. it's been a tradition since calvin coolidge for the president to attend the white house correspondents' dinner. but president trump has his own tradition of skipping it. and it was probably for the best because the comedian michele wolf was brutal taking shots at the president and his staff who did not seem amused. >> welcome to the white house correspondents' dinner. >> reporter: it's a tale of two washingtons. as hundreds of journalists and white house staffers gathered in a washington ballroom, president trump was back on the trail. >> hello, michigan, hello, michigan. >> reporter: skipping d.c.'s biggest media event for the second year in a row to rally with his supporters. >> i was invited to another event tonight, the white house correspondents' dinner. [ crowd booing ] but i'd much rather be in washington, michigan, than in washington, d.c. right now. >> reporter: but trump's administration was in attendance. p

abc's tara palmeri joins us from washington where his confirmation is on hold. good morning, tara. >> reporter: that's right, the confirmation process just got harder for dr. jackson. now that former and current colleagues are coming forward with stories about drinking on the job and creating a toxic work environment during the obama administration. overnight, the president's pick to lead the va is fighting to be confirmed. on capitol hill, jackson not backing down despite fresh allegations of professional misconduct during his time as white house doctor. >> i'm looking forward to re-scheduling the hearing. >> reporter: a ranking member of the veterans affairs committee overseeing the hearing said 20 current and former personnel have come forward with troubling claims. a senator telling cnn that the committee is reviewing allegations that he was abusive to staff and drank heavily. while on official travel. >> if you're drunk and something happens with the president, it's very difficult to treat the president. this is totally unacceptable. >> reporter: president t

abc's tara palmeri has the latest on how jackson is now fighting back this morning. good morning, tara. >> reporter: good morning, kendis and diane. that's right. dr. jackson is fighting to be confirmed, however, there are serious questions about whether he's capable of running the government's second largest agency. president trump's top pick to lead the v.a., dr. ronny jackson facing new claims that while serving as white house doctor he was, quote, flat out unethical. that's according to nearly two dozen of his current and former colleagues who told the senate committee overseeing his hearing that he was, quote, abusive, volatile and the worst officer i ever served with. among the startling accounts of professional misconduct provided to abc news, he was accused of getting drunk and wrecking a government vehicle, a claim he flatly denies. >> should be very easy to prove that. >> reporter: on another occasion when the president needed him he was unreachable and accused of being, quote, passed out drunk this his hotel room. he's been accused of recklessly handing out

robert: we cover it all with tara palmeri of abc news, yamiche alcindor of the pbs newshour, mark landler of the "new york times," and dan balze of "thshington post." >> this is "washington week." corpore funding i provided by --. oncegain, from washington, moderator robert costa. robert: good evening. the imageshis week of state craft and stage craft were ground breaking. even as negotiations continue. but north korean leader kim jung un and southorn leader moon jyin came together shaking hands and smiling as they agreede to rem all nuclear weapons from the korean peninsula and announced they will work with the udted states ahina to officially end the war. a war that began in 1950. at the summit the first between korean leaders in more than a decade, moon and kim pledged to establish permanent and solid treaty. that declaration included promises to pursue a phased reduction of military arms, transforming the border into a peace zone, and reorganizing families, bringing them together, that were divided by the long war. in the oval office on friday, president trump said, for that he believ

here's tara palmeri. >> reporter: president trump making a rare sunday appearance with the first lady. his message on easter, slamming the door shut on dreamers. >> a lot of people are coming in because they want to take advantage of daca, and we're going to have to really see. they had a great chance. the democrats blew it. >> reporter: those comments coming just after trump unleashed about security on the mexican border. tweeting, "caravans coming. republicans must go to nuclear option to pass tough laws now. no more daca deal!" just an hour before the tweet went out, a story appeared on fox news about central americans marching through mexico to the u.s. border to shed light on migrants and poverty. >> they don't think it's illegal to go from one country to another, which is a clear standoff with this president, who thinks otherwise. >> reporter: new arrivals can't apply for protection under daca, a program that protects people brought into the country illegally as children, known as dreamers. the president's newest rejection of daca marks a series of flips on the highly contentiou

tara palmeri is at the white house. >> reporter: president trump upstaging the high profile white house correspondents' dinner with his own road show. >> by the way, is this better than that phony washington white house correspondents' dinner? is this more fun? >> reporter: in the battleground state of michigan, the president taking aim at his favorite targets. >> we need to drain the swamp. >> reporter: still fuming that his nominee to lead the v.a., white house doctor ronny jackson, was forced to withdraw his name from consideration. >> what jon tester did to this man is a disgrace. >> reporter: focusing his frustration on democratic senator jon tester of montana for revealing embarrassing allegations about jackson. >> we need to vote against guys like jon tester that can destroy a man with innuendo. and we have to be very careful with the press, because they do the same thing. >> reporter: in the raucous 80-minute rally, trump beat the drum for stronger borders. >> we need security and we need the wall. >> reporter: even threatening a government shutdown. >> if we don't get border se

here's abc tara palmeri. >> reporter: tonight, the president's personal attorney and fixer, under criminal investigation, signaling complete loyalty to trump. a source telling abc news, quote, "michael cohen will never flip." >> i will do anything to protect mr. trump. >> reporter: the source, who was with cohen last night, says trump's long-time confidant rejects a "new york times" story that cohen may cooperate with investigators since the fbi raided his home, hotel, and office. the president lashing out against "the times" and defending cohen, tweeting, "sorry, i don't see michael doing that despite the horrible witch-hunt and the dishonest media." >> why is the president talking about the notion of michael cohen flipping if the president didn't do anything wrong? >> you have to look at everything the president has said about michael cohen and the fbi raid. he is defending someone who has worked with and known for a dozen plus years who he thinks is being treated unfairly. >> reporter: while cohen and trump are presenting a united front, the attorney will likely face pressure given the

abc's tara palmeri is with the president in florida. she starts us off tonight. >> reporter: tonight, president trump fiercely defending his personal attorney and fixer michael cohen. attacking a story claiming cohen may turn on him, tweeting, "the new york times and a third rate reporter are going out of their way to destroy michael cohen and his relationship with me in the hope that he will 'flip.'" the president continued, "sorry, i don't see michael doing that despite the horrible witch hunt and the dishonest media!" "the times" article quoting trump's former political adviser roger stone, saying trump treats cohen "like garbage." cohen has long professed undying loyalty to the president. >> and i will do anything to protect mr. trump. when you bring a fight to donald trump, he's going to take that fight. i have never come across a situation where mr. trump has said something that's not accurate. >> reporter: but that loyalty will now be tested after the fbi seized evidence from his home, office and hotel, partly related to the $130

abc's tara palmeri joins us from washington. tara, good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning, dan and paula. that's right. it was a week of highs and lows for president trump. while his top pick to lead the v.a., dr. ronny jackson, had to withdraw his name amid embarrassing allegations, he saw his secretary of state mike pompeo confirmed and then he was able to take a victory lap for his high pressure campaign against north korea. president trump taking a bow for the historic agreement struck between the leaders of north and south korea working toward an end to their decades long conflict. >> i think i have a responsibility. i think other presidents should have done it. >> reporter: the president taking on the challenge to denuclearize the korean penalty and bring peace, a solution unreachable for the past 60 years in the upcoming meeting with the north korean dictator. >> i look forward to our meeting. it should be quite something. >> reporter: at the same time signaling that he's ready to break the iran nuclear deal. germa

the president issuing a rather panoramic defense on twitter and abc's tara palmeri has more at the white house. tara, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, dan and paula. president trump gave a full-throated endorsement of scott pruitt last night, tweeting he is doing a great job. congress is back in session this week and they don't all agree. the president has already touched another another subject, a trade war with china. president trump pushing hard, and another cabinet member under fire. the president out for dinner on saturday night, showing his continued spot for embattled epa member, scott pruitt. this morning, president trump pushing hard for his campaign compromises and standing by yet another cabinet member under fire. tweeting, while security spending was somewhat more than his predecessor scott pruitt has received death threats because of his bold actions at epa. this coming hours after new documents show the first quarter costs for pruitt's 20-member full-time security detail triple the size of previous epa administrators and might cost taxpayers $3 million for the year.

abc's tara palmeri is in washington with more. tara, good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning. the markets were hanging on trump's every tweet. wall street and even some of the president's closest aides have been trying to figure out if these threats are just his tough negotiating style or real policy. markets around the world tumbling after president trump's high-stakes standoff with china. the dow dropping by more than 550 points as president trump and president xi engage in a tit for tat over tariffs. >> i'm not saying there won't be a little pain but the market's gone up 40%, 42% so we might lose a little bit of it. >> reporter: trump selling short-term pain for the long-term gain of a more balanced trade relationship with china. trump igniting a potential trade war with one of the world's largest economies when he announced $50 billion in tariffs on chinese goods. this is a big switch from back in september. >> president xi and i discussed improving our economic relationship. we want a vibrant trade relationship with chi

abc's tara palmeri covering every angle for us this morning from west palm beach. tara, good morning. >> reporter: that's right, paula and tom. our sources say the president has been on edge since the fbi raid on the home of his personal attorney, michael cohen. so much so that sessions made this offer to resign while checking in on a routine meeting between the president and rosenstein just to make sure the meeting hadn't gone south. overnight, abc reporting that jeff sessions threatened to possibly resign if the president fired his deputy rod rosenstein. this coming just days after senior justice officials approved the fbi raid on the home of president trump's personal attorney michael cohen. a move that set off the commander in chief. >> it's an attack on our country in a true sense. >> reporter: among the documents reportedly seized, files detailing the $130,000 payment cohen made to adult film actress stormy daniels. "the washington post" first reporting sessions' phone call last saturday to white house counsel don mcgahn when he said he would consider resignin

for more on the white house reaction, let's get to tara palm palmeri. >> reporter: tonight, president trump, faced with the graphic images of dead families and suffering children, didn't wait for verification before declaring syria's actions a chemical attack. "many dead, including women and children, in mindless chemical attack in syria. president putin, russia, and iran are responsible for backing animal assad. big price to pay." in addition to slamming syrian president assad, trump attacked russian president putin for the first time on twitter. the president's homeland security and counterterrorism adviser made it clear, military options are open. >> i wouldn't take anything off the table. these are horrible photos. we're looking into the attack at this point. >> reporter: it's a striking contrast to the president's recent words, that he would be willing to pull 2,000 u.s. troops out of syria. >> by the way, we're knocking the hell out of isis. we'll be coming out of syria, like very soon. let the other people take care of it now. >> reporter: but after today's events, that may no