ABC World News Tonight with David Muir Full Broadcast - April 9, 2026

[0:00] David Muir, ABC's World News Tonight, America's most watched newscast, now streaming same day [0:07] with all the breaking news of the day on Disney Plus. Most watched, most trusted. Now on Disney [0:13] Plus every night. Tonight, the breaking news as we come on the air involving First Lady Melania [0:19] Trump. Late today, the First Lady coming before the cameras at the White House to make a statement [0:24] denying ties to Jeffrey Epstein, saying Epstein did not introduce her to the president and saying [0:30] Epstein's victims should still have the right to testify before Congress if they choose. You will [0:36] hear from the First Lady directly. And why now? We'll go live to Mary Bruce at the White House. [0:41] President Trump, meanwhile, in this shaky ceasefire with Iran now being tested tonight. Only three [0:47] known ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz. Iran's demands tonight involving Israel. But a [0:52] source is now telling ABC News what President Trump told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. [0:57] We'll go live to Ian Pannell. The other news tonight, a major turn, the search for a missing [1:02] American wife and mother. Her husband saying she fell out of the boat and was swept away. [1:07] Tonight, he's now under arrest and what we've learned. Tonight, the verdict, the husband and [1:11] doctor accused of trying to kill his wife on a hiking cliff, trying to inject her with a syringe, [1:16] what the jury decided, and the scene in that courtroom. Tonight, the ISIS-inspired gunman entering that [1:23] class of ROTC cadets, opening fire. And now we hear from the cadets who took him down during that [1:29] attack. And the instructor, an army helicopter pilot, and his bravery in those moments before he lost his [1:35] life. The harrowing call to 911 tonight, a woman trapped inside her vehicle, sinking. [1:39] I'm in the lake. I'm going to drown. I don't know how to swim. [1:42] Authorities racing to the scene. Tonight, the countdown to splashdown. The astronauts on Artemis 2 returning, [1:48] facing one of the most dangerous moments yet, re-entering the Earth's atmosphere. Tonight, [1:54] what will happen to the capsule, the parachutes, the heat the capsule will face, and then the team [1:59] waiting in the ocean off California for their homecoming. In New York City, a former police [2:04] sergeant who threw a cooler at a suspect who then crashed on a scooter, dying. That sergeant [2:08] sentenced tonight. This evening, the growing calls for a school board member to step down after [2:13] telling a female student at a board meeting, she was hot. What that board member is now saying [2:19] tonight. And a Jeopardy contestant looking to keep his streak alive tonight. The history he has [2:24] already made, his story right here tonight. From ABC News World Headquarters in New York, [2:34] this is World News Tonight with David Muir. Good evening. We begin tonight here with the breaking [2:40] news. First Lady Melania Trump, the first lady coming before the cameras at the White House this [2:44] afternoon to make a statement denying any ties to Jeffrey Epstein, saying Epstein did not [2:49] introduce her to the president. And the first lady saying Epstein's victims still have the right [2:54] to testify before Congress if they choose that they should be heard. The first lady insisting she [2:59] had, quote, never been friends with Epstein and was never a victim of Epstein's. And what she's now [3:04] saying about emails she exchanged with Epstein's convicted accomplice, Ghislaine Maxwell. Those emails [3:09] released in the Epstein files. Tonight, the first lady and what she said this afternoon, ABC's Mary [3:14] Bruce, leading us off from the White House. Late this afternoon, the extraordinary moment at the [3:20] White House. Good afternoon. First Lady Melania Trump coming before the cameras to deny she had [3:26] any relationship with sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, accusing unnamed people of, quote, looking to cause [3:32] damage to her good name. The lies linking me with the disgraceful Jeffrey Epstein need to end today. [3:40] The first lady insists Epstein and his accomplice convicted sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell [3:45] were not her friends. I never been friends with Epstein. Donald and I were invited to the same [3:54] parties as Epstein from time to time. To be clear, I never had a relationship with Epstein or his [4:04] accomplice Maxwell. The first lady addressing the emails she exchanged with Maxwell, released as part [4:11] of the Justice Department's Epstein files. In October 2002, Melania Trump writing, Dear G, how are you? [4:17] Nice story about JE and NY Mag. You look great on the picture. I know you are very busy flying all over [4:24] the world. How is Palm Beach? I cannot wait to go down. Give me a call when you are back in NY. Have a great [4:30] time. Love Melania. My email reply to Maxwell cannot be categorized as anything more than casual [4:40] correspondence. The first lady emphatic that Epstein did not introduce her to her husband, [4:46] the president. I am not Epstein's victim. Epstein did not introduce me to Donald Trump. I met my husband [4:56] by chance at the New York City party in 1998. She says she had no knowledge of Epstein's crimes. I have [5:04] never had any knowledge of Epstein abuse of his victims. I was never involved in any capacity. I was not a [5:16] participant, was never on Epstein's plane and never visited his private island. The president has called the Epstein [5:26] story a hoax. I know it's a hoax. It's started by Democrats. Urging Americans to move on. I think [5:32] it's really time for the country to get on to something else. But today, the first lady declaring [5:37] it's time to, quote, work openly and transparently to uncover the truth. Now is the time for Congress to [5:44] act. Epstein was not alone. Melania Trump saying all of Epstein's victims should have a chance to [5:52] testify. Each and every woman should have her day to tell her story in public if she wishes. And then [6:01] her testimony should be permanently entered into the congressional record. Then and only then we will [6:12] have the truth. Again, David, this was really extraordinary. The president here behind closed [6:18] doors dealing with this fragile ceasefire while the first lady, who rarely comes before cameras, [6:22] took center stage. We've asked the White House if the president agrees with her that Epstein's [6:27] victims should testify before Congress. But so far, no response. David. All right, Mary Bruce on the [6:33] first lady tonight. Mary, thank you. And as you mentioned, Mary, meanwhile, the president tonight and [6:37] the shaky ceasefire with Iran now being tested. Only three known ships passing through the Strait of [6:43] Hormuz today. Iran's demands tonight involving Israel now. Tonight, what a source is now telling ABC News, [6:48] what President Trump told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Here's Ian Pannell from the [6:54] region again tonight. Tonight, nearly 48 hours after President Trump called for that ceasefire with [7:00] Iran, the number one condition to open the Strait of Hormuz immediately. Tonight, it would appear just [7:06] three cargo ships getting through that critical passageway today, where 20 percent of the world's oil [7:12] remains at a standstill tonight, showing just how fragile this truce is. And the president late today [7:18] saying, quote, Iran's doing a very poor job, dishonorable, some would say, of allowing oil to [7:23] go through the Strait of Hormuz. The president adding, this is not the agreement we have. The [7:28] regime saying it'll keep control of the vital waterway. But before the president started this [7:33] war, there was unfettered access through the Strait. Iran did not control it. And tonight, Iran saying [7:40] part of the U.S. ceasefire deal is not being met, pointing to Israel's sweeping and deadly attacks in [7:45] Lebanon. Trump insisting Lebanon isn't part of the ceasefire deal. But Iran says it is, calling [7:53] Israel's attacks on Lebanon a violation of the truce. A source telling ABC News, President Trump [7:58] told Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu to scale back the strikes and open direct talks with Lebanon. [8:04] Netanyahu today agreeing to hold talks in the coming days. Overnight, Vice President J.D. Vance [8:10] making it clear to Iran, Lebanon isn't part of the deal. If Iran wants to let this negotiation fall [8:17] apart in a conflict where they were getting hammered over Lebanon, which has nothing to do with them [8:23] and which the United States never once said was part of the ceasefire, that's ultimately their [8:28] choice. We think that would be dumb, but that's their choice. And tonight, with this truce wavering, [8:33] gas prices in the U.S. now at $4.16 a gallon, up $1.20 since the war began. And U.S. crude oil just [8:42] under $100 per barrel. With the Strait of Hormuz still largely at a standstill tonight, two days [8:49] since the ceasefire was announced. David, the ceasefire looking shaky. The number one issue for [8:55] President Trump was the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz. But tonight, limited ships are getting [9:00] through and Iran remains in control. David? Ian Pannell from the region again tonight. Ian, [9:05] thank you. We do move on to the other major news tonight and a turn in that search for a missing [9:09] American wife and mother in the Bahamas. Her husband saying she fell out of that boat and was swept [9:14] away. Tonight, that husband is now under arrest. And what we've learned, Victor Akendo from the Bahamas. [9:21] Tonight, the husband of Lynette Hooker, the 55-year-old American mother who went missing in the Bahamas, [9:26] now under arrest and in police custody. Authorities saying overnight, Brian Hooker is being questioned [9:32] in connection with his wife's disappearance. Brian has not been charged. It comes just hours [9:37] after he posted a statement online saying in part, I am heartbroken over the recent boat accident that [9:43] caused my beloved Lynette to fall from our small dinghy. Brian told police the couple, together for [9:49] more than 20 years, was returning to their sailboat on Saturday evening from Elbow Key when their eight and a [9:54] half-foot dinghy encountered poor weather. Brian says Lynette fell overboard, along with the boat's [10:00] key, swept away in the current. Brian saying he was forced to paddle back to shore, alerting police [10:05] about her disappearance 4 a.m. Sunday. Lynette's daughter, Carly Ailsworth, skeptical about her [10:12] stepfather's account. I don't feel like she would just fall out or bounce out. It's just not [10:18] adding up to me, so I would just like a thorough investigation. Tonight, ABC News obtaining a 2015 [10:24] police report showing Lynette was taken into custody and jailed after authorities say she [10:29] repeatedly struck Brian in the face. Carly sharing this voicemail, she says her stepfather left her [10:35] after her mother vanished. Hello, on the flotation device that I threw to mom when she fell overboard. [10:43] David, we are outside the central police station in Freeport. Brian Hooker's attorney tells us he [10:48] is now being held inside and that he categorically and unequivocally denies any wrongdoing. David. [10:55] Victor Akendo with us again tonight. Victor, thank you. Tonight, the guilty verdict. The husband and [10:59] doctor accused of trying to kill his wife on that hiking cliff in Hawaii, trying to inject her with [11:03] a syringe, what the jury found him guilty of, and the reaction in that courtroom. Here's Trevor Ault. [11:09] Tonight, the Hawaii anesthesiologist accused of trying to kill his wife during a hike on her [11:14] birthday has been found guilty. We, the jury in this case, find the defendant guilty of attempted [11:20] manslaughter based upon extreme mental or emotional disturbance. Dr. Gerhardt Koenig burying his face [11:26] in his hands after he heard the verdict. Prosecutors argued Koenig was obsessed with an alleged emotional [11:31] affair his wife, Ariel, had had with a co-worker. They say he tried pushing her off this steep cliffside, [11:37] then tried injecting her with a syringe before bashing her head with a jagged rock. I'm saying, [11:42] what the are you doing? Get off me. And he's saying, like, you, you're done. Dr. Koenig testified [11:51] he only hit his wife in self-defense after she attacked him first. You reacted to defend yourself [11:58] in the heat of that moment, you said yes? Yes. But the jury heard bombshell testimony from Koenig's [12:04] 20-year-old son, Emil, who said his dad called him and confessed. That my stepmom had been cheating [12:10] on him and that he tried to kill her. The jury convicted the doctor of a lesser charge, [12:16] attempted manslaughter based upon extreme mental or emotional disturbance, which the jury foreperson [12:22] said the couple both testified to. Both of them both agreed that there was some emotional disturbance [12:28] in their relationship. David, Dr. Koenig's sentencing is set for August. With his lesser charge now, [12:34] instead of facing potentially life in prison, he faces a maximum of 20 years. David. [12:39] Trevor Ault reporting tonight. Thank you, Trevor. We turn now to the ISIS-inspired gunman who entered [12:44] a class of ROTC cadets opening fire. Tonight, we now hear from the cadets who took him down during [12:50] that attack and the instructor, an army helicopter pilot, and his bravery before he lost his life. [12:56] Here's Pierre Thomas. Tonight, for the first time, we hear the riveting accounts of those ROTC cadets [13:03] who stopped an ISIS sympathizer from slaughtering their class. It's just before 11 a.m. and Muhammad [13:10] Jalo shows up at a classroom at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia. He asked, you know, [13:16] is this the ROTC classroom? I said, I was like, yeah, like, we're ROTC. Then all hell breaks loose. [13:22] He pulled out his gun. It was a Glock .44 .22 caliber. And shouted, Allah Akbar, and began shooting. [13:34] The ROTC instructor, Lieutenant Colonel Brandon Shaw, an army helicopter pilot who served in Iraq [13:40] and Afghanistan, sprang into action. Colonel Shaw lunges at the guy and starts wrestling with him [13:49] upright. Two of the students had knives. So I just go in there, [13:53] just start stabbing him. We're all in a pile. And because he's still a threat, I'm still stabbing [13:59] him. We tried to do the, um, to get the gun away from him and he wasn't letting go of the gun. [14:04] And I just happened to have a knife on me at the time. And Chad and I, we were like, neutralized [14:09] this guy. David, one of the students who stabbed the suspect was shot in the chest, but he's doing [14:14] just fine. Colonel Shaw, who was also shot, died. David, he was awarded the Purple Heart in death. [14:21] Pierre Thomas with us tonight. Thank you, Pierre. We turned out at the harrowing [14:25] 9-1-1 call. A woman trapped inside her sinking vehicle, calling for help as it was filling [14:29] with water. Here's Molalenghi. Tonight, the heart-pounding race to save a driver, [14:36] trapped as her pickup truck sinks in a retention pond outside of Tampa, Florida. [14:40] The car's voice emerged. Hillsborough County Sheriff's deputies reaching the water just minutes [14:45] after getting this desperate 9-1-1 call. The woman telling the dispatcher she's running [15:04] out of time. I cannot swim. It's been in the water. Okay, I have help coming. You can hear [15:11] those deputies in the water trying to get inside. Moments later, a team on shore helping to pull the [15:21] woman and her rescuers to safety. Well, David, the sheriff's department says the driver only [15:25] suffered minor injuries. It seems the quick response here made all the difference, David. [15:29] Molalenghi with us tonight. Molalenghi, thank you. Tonight, the countdown to splashdown, the return of [15:34] four astronauts on board Artemis II. Splashdown expected at about 8.07 Eastern tomorrow night. [15:40] Of course, we'll be on the air with live coverage of the whole thing. The journey home, re-entering [15:45] the Earth's atmosphere, is always the most harrowing. The intense heat that capsule will face [15:49] and the parachutes that will carry them to the ocean. The country waited to celebrate them when [15:54] they arrive home. Here's Whit Johnson tonight. Tonight, after that historic liftoff captivated humans [16:01] around the world and those stunning images beamed back during their journey around the far side [16:06] of the moon. Absolutely. The four Artemis astronauts are on track to splashdown off the coast of [16:14] Southern California tomorrow night around 8 p.m. Eastern time. Overnight, as they begin their journey [16:20] back, pilot Victor Glover on the final hurdle to get home. And one of the first press conferences [16:25] we were asked, what are we looking forward to? And I said, splashdown. And it's kind of humorous, [16:29] but it's literal as well that we have to get back. Those astronauts all know what now comes as one of [16:36] the most dangerous parts of spaceflight. Before they reach the Earth's atmosphere, first, [16:42] the Orion spacecraft will separate from the module that's been powering it, revealing Orion's all [16:47] important heat shield that will protect the astronauts from the 5,000 degree heat that will [16:52] be generated as Orion enters Earth's atmosphere at about 24,000 miles per hour. The intense heat will [16:59] knock out all contact with mission control for about six minutes. Then, two sets of parachutes will [17:04] deploy, ultimately slowing the spacecraft to about 20 miles per hour. And then about 13 minutes after [17:11] reentering the atmosphere and after traveling about 695,000 miles, the splashdown in the Pacific [17:18] off Southern California. Right away, the recovery team waiting in the water will race to the capsule [17:24] and bring the astronauts to a nearby ship, the USS John P. Murtha, which has already traveled out to sea. [17:31] Teams on board have been running drills preparing, led by Lieutenant Commander Jesse Wang, a doctor. [17:37] We do expect them to have some symptoms for being in space for 10 days, most commonly nausea, a little bit of [17:43] vertigo or disequilibrium, as well as just being dehydrated and tired. [17:48] And overnight, the astronauts already reflecting on their history made. [17:52] When we watched that Earth eclipse behind the moon, wow, I'm actually getting chills right now, [18:00] just thinking about my palms are sweating. [18:02] And David, so far the weather looks good for splashdown, this final historic test as American [18:08] astronauts return home from the moon for the first time in more than 50 years. [18:13] David. [18:13] Witt, as you know, Americans at home can watch it live right here on ABC tomorrow night, [18:17] World News Tonight Friday, followed by our live coverage. [18:20] Right here, Artemis II's return beginning after the news will come on around 7.30 p.m. Eastern, [18:24] right through it all here on ABC. [18:27] When we come back tonight, a lot more news ahead. [18:29] In New York City, a former police sergeant who threw a cooler at a suspect who then crashed on a scooter dying. [18:34] That sergeant now sentenced tonight. [18:36] Also tonight, the growing calls for a school board member to step down [18:39] after telling a female student at a board meeting she was hot. [18:43] But that board member is now saying tonight about this. [18:46] The stunning rescue, a minor trapped for 14 days in a flooded tunnel, now pulled out alive. [18:51] And America Strong tonight, the Jeopardy! contestant looking to keep his streak alive, [18:55] the history he's already made, and what he's hoping to do tonight. [18:59] His story in a moment. [19:01] Tonight, a former New York City police sergeant who threw a cooler at a fleeing suspect, [19:04] that suspect crashing his scooter and dying. [19:07] The former sergeant now sentenced to three to nine years in prison. [19:10] Eric Duran's attorney tonight saying he will appeal. [19:12] Tonight, a school board member in northern Tennessee is facing calls to step down. [19:17] Keith Irvin caught on a hot mic at a Washington County school board meeting, [19:21] telling a female student she was hot. [19:23] God, you're hot. [19:26] Where do you go to school at? [19:28] The board voting to censure Irvin. [19:30] Tonight, he has apologized. [19:31] He says his comments were taken out of context. [19:35] When we come back here tonight, the minor trapped underground in a flooded tunnel for 14 days, [19:40] pulled out alive, and you'll see it. [19:41] And the Jeopardy! contestant tonight looking to make history what he's done already in a moment. [19:47] To the index tonight, a miraculous rescue in Mexico. [19:50] Searchers pulling the minor out alive. [19:52] He's been trapped underground for 14 days in that flooded tunnel. [19:56] Another minor still missing tonight. [19:58] This evening, all eyes on Jeopardy! contestant Jamie Ding, [20:00] the Detroit native going for 20 straight wins tonight, [20:03] which would put him in seventh place on the all-time leaderboard. [20:06] Host Ken Jennings, of course, is the all-time leader. [20:09] When we come back tonight, the astronauts, of course, coming home, [20:11] and the one image going viral tonight, you'll see it in a moment. [20:16] Tonight, the astronauts on their way home will carry it live tomorrow night [20:19] in this sweet image. [20:20] Mom, Christina Turtle, in Orlando, capturing her sons, watching Artemis II launch. [20:25] Samuel and Joseph now waiting for them to come home. [20:28] And so are we. [20:29] I'll see you tomorrow. [20:29] Good night. [20:30] David Muir, the most trusted anchor in America, [20:33] the most watched anchor in America. [20:35] Thank you for making World News Tonight with David Muir, [20:38] the number one newscast in America.