from around the bay area. world news tonight with david muir is next. i'll see you tonight, breaking news as we come on the air. the high drama in court. the prosecutor who brought the case against donald trump suddenly in court defending herself, and you'll see it. also tonight, we're tracking those two winter storms moving in, already tonight, the 30-vehicle pileup. first tonight, that unexpected moment in georgia playing out late today. the fulton county d.a. suddenly

taking the stand, defending herself against allegations of misconduct, saying, you think i'm on trial, these people are on trial, referring to trump and his alleged co-conspirators. and what happens to this case if she's disqualified. steve osunsami live in georgia. also breaking tonight, the blockbuster headline late today. the special counsel in the hunter biden case now charging a confidential fbi source, accusing him of lying about hunter biden and his father, and their role in ukraine business. pierre thomas standing by with what this all means tonight. the criminal case that is moving forward tonight in new york city. a judge telling donald trump today the trial will begin in weeks over the alleged payment to stormy daniels to silence her to keep it from the voters. aaron katersky with what the judge told trump today in court. that horrific, deadly shooting at the super bowl celebration, and what we've now learned tonight. the motive, what started this. 22 people shot, nine of them children. the massive truck explosion

in los angeles. nine firefighters hurt. two in critical condition at this hour. tonight, russia and that nuclear threat. the meeting on capitol hill today over russia's suspected desire to put nuclear weapons in space. and what lawmakers told us when they came out of that briefing today. tonight, we're tracking those two fast-moving storms right across the country. the midwest, then the east. the images coming in at this hour. the 30-vehicle pileup. authorities say be prepared for snow and ice. america's new mission to the moon tonight. it would be america's first moon landing in more than 50 years. tonight, the nba player arrested for allegedly attacking another player before the big game. and the missing wedding ring. we're not going to leave where it was found. good evening and it's great to have you with us here on a

very busy thursday night. and we begin tonight with that stunning moment in court. the high drama playing out in georgia late today. the prosecutor who brought the case against donald trump and his alleged cock-conspirators taking the stand herself to defend herself. the dramatic moment when d.a. fani willis showed up in court, insisting she wanted to testify. taking the oath. on the stand, willis was def defiant, fielding questions about alleged misconduct. at one point, though, willis telling the lawyer, questioning her, you're confused. you think i'm on trial, these people are on trial for trying to steal an election in 2020. could she be removed from the case? and what happens to the case against trump if that happens? abc's steve osunsami from georgia tonight. >> how are you feeling about your testimony? >> reporter: in a stunni ining change of heart, the fulton county prosecutor accused of profiting from hiring her lover to help lead the election interference case against former president trump and

18 co-conspirators walked right up to the judge and said she was ready to testify. >> i'm ready to go. >> reporter: fani willis called the lawyer who called her here a liar. >> it is a lie. it is a lie. it's highly offensive when someone lies on you, and it's highly offensive when they try. >> judge -- >> someone says you slept with somebody the first day you met them. don't be cute with me and then think you're not going to get an answer. >> reporter: it is a rare event for a prosecutor to sit on the witness stand and take questions from the lawyers of clients she's trying to convict. >> you're confused. you think i'm on trial. these people are on trial for trying to steal an election in 2020. i'm not on trial, no matter how hard you try to put me on trial. >> reporter: the attorney for one of the defendants, who's doing most of the digging here, wants her client's case thrown out and is asking the judge to remove willis from the election interference case because she enjoyed romantic getaways that were allegedly paid for my special prosecutor nathan wade, who willis hired. >> he paid for the flight and the cruise on royal caribbean that time? >> so, yes, he paid. he tells me how much it is, and i give him the money back. if you tell me it's a g, then

you're going to get a thousand dollars. whatever it is. i didn't make him produce receipts. whatever he told me it was, i gave him his money back. >> reporter: willis told the court that she paid wade the money back, sometimes thousands of dollars, in cash. >> you gave him cash before you ever went on that trip? >> uh-huh. >> okay. and so when you got cash to pay him back on those trips, would you go to the atm? >> no, lady. >> so the cash that you would pay him, you wouldn't get it out of the bank? >> i have money at my house. >> reporter: willis says that she and wade ended their romantic relationship in august of last year. it was his ex-wife who helped make the relationship public during their bitter divorce. >> so, all of the vacations she took, she paid you cash for? >> yes, ma'am. >> reporter: one of the big arguments is over when willis and wade started dating. the two say it was months after she hired him. but willis' former friend and employee, who says she was forced to resign, testified today through a video call that the two have been romantic since 2019, a year before the election. >> did you observe them do

things that are common among people having a romantic relationship? >> yes. >> such as? can you give us an example? >> hugging, kissing. >> david: let's bring in steve osunsami live from georgia tonight. and steve, aside from all this that played out this afternoon on live television, the cable networks carrying it, the bigger picture here. what happens if the d.a. is disqualified. does the case against trump move forward here? >> reporter: well, david, the state could assign the case to a different prosecutor, who would then decide whether or not to move the case forward. but there are plenty of choices of prosecutors in the state of georgia, if you're looking for one who wants to stop this. even so, it would still be a tall order to remove willis from this case. david? >> david: we'll see. steve osunsami leading us off here tonight. steve, thank you. we're going to turn now to the criminal case that is moving forward, the case against donald trump in new york city over an

alleged payment to stormy daniels to allegedly buy her silence and keep it from the voters. the former president was in court today, the judge rejecting trump's attempt to dismiss the case. saying it will begin in weeks. here's our senior investigative correspondent aaron katersky. >> reporter: tonight, the first criminal trial of a former american president, a judge has now determined, with donald trump sitting right there in front of him, will begin in just weeks. the judge saying today jury selection will begin march 25th. trump had pushed to dismiss and delay, just as he has in his three other criminal cases. but this one will move forward. in this case, trump is accused of trying to hide from voters allegations of a tryst with porn actress stormy daniels by buying her silence for $130,000. >> i'm going to have to sit here for months on a trial. i think it's ridiculous. it's unfair. >> reporter: trump, who has pleaded not guilty, argued the case is political. but the judge refused to dismiss it, saying, "although defendant

argues he has been impermissibly targeted, defendant has failed to carry the burden of demonstrating disparate treatment." manhattan district attorney alvin bragg was the first prosecutor to file charges against trump, and now will be the first to put him on trial. the defense complained today, david, that the timing of the trial will prevent trump from campaigning, but the judge said, that's no legal reason to delay it. david? >> david: aaron katersky with us. aaron, thank you. and the other breaking news tonight, the blockbuster headline. tonight, we have just learned that the special counsel in the hunter biden case is now charging a confidential fbi source accusing him of lying about hunter biden and his father and their role in ukraine business. so, what does this mean now, amid the accusations on the hill against the bidens? here's our chief justice correspondent pierre thomas. >> reporter: tonight, the special counsel investigating hunter biden filing criminal charges against a former fbi informant who allegedly lied to agents about hunter biden's business dealings with the ukrainian energy company burisma.

special counsel david weiss charging alexander smirnov provided the fbi "false, derogatory information," claiming burisma executives told him they had hired hunter biden when his father was vice president to, quote, protect us through his dad from all sorts of problems. the fbi determining that was not true. the indictment further charges smirnov lied when he told agents burisma executives paid the bidens a $5 million prescribe when joe biden was vice president. the special counsel now saying, "the defendant's story to the fbi was a fabrication." it comes as house republicans are moving ahead to impeach the president. they have found no evidence he acted improperly, but have repeatedly leaned on the words of an fbi informant. >> even a trusted fbi informant has alleged a bribe to the biden family. >> and a highly credible fbi source alleges that joe biden received $5 million in exchange for pressuring for the firing of a ukrainian prosecutor.

>> reporter: tonight, a congressional source telling abc news the fbi informant the republicans were talking about is the same man who was indicted today for lying to the fbi about joe and hunter biden. the alleged motive for lying? the special counsel says smirnov had bias against then candidate joe biden. house republicans say it's still full steam ahead on impeachment. david? >> david: pierre thomas, thank you. we turn now to that shooting at the super bowl celebration in kansas city. authorities now say the motive appears to have been a fight that then led to that eruption of gunfire. and tonight here, new images of the moment the shots rang out. just an extraordinary crowd had assembled. the sound sending people running for their lives, scattering to get away. as you know, one person was killed, 22 people were shot. nine of them were children. abc's alex perez in kansas city with how this all started. >> reporter: tonight,

authorities in kansas city say the hail of bullets that erupted at the end of the chiefs super bowl parade was the result of a fight that escalated into gunfire, and two of the three people in custody are juveniles. >> preliminary investigative findings have shown there was no nexus to terrorism or homegrown violent extremism. this appeared to be a dispute between several people that ended in gunfire. >> reporter: the result of that fight, 23 people shot, at least half of them children under the age of 16. the youngest, just 8 years old. jacob gooch, his wife, and son all recovering from gunshot injuries to the feet and legs. >> i see smoke coming out of my ankle, people rushing me, i turn to try to start running, and i collapsed to the ground, because obviously i can't -- couldn't run, had a shot through my ankle. >> reporter: investigators pouring over videos like these obtained by tmz sports that show people treating the injured among the kas yos.

the two men, seen in this video, tackling a possible suspect, were thanked by law enforcement today for their bravery. >> i didn't hesitate. it was just -- just do it. so i went to go tackle him, and another gentleman did the same thing. >> reporter: paul contreras and trey filter were both there with their families. >> i remember the officers pulling my feet off of him. and at that point, i was just looking for my wife and kids. >> reporter: and watch closely as trey's wife casey moves a gun away from the possible suspect. the shooting happened just as the chiefs were leaving the rally stage. several members of the team comforting fearful fans. offensive lineman trey smith helping hide people in a closet. >> one of the things we kept saying is, "everyone just relax and we'll stay calm." you know. "stay focused. we're good." >> reporter: tragically, lisa lopez-galvan, a well-known local radio host and a mother of two children, was killed. her brother remembering the 44-year-old as "very bubbly" and a big fan of her chiefs. >> this is another example of a

real, loving, real human whose life was taken tragically with a senseless act. >> reporter: and david, some encouraging news tonight. just three children remain hospitalized, and all of the churn are expected to make a full recovery. david? >> david: well, that is good news tonight. alex, thank you. we turn now to russia, and that nuclear threat we reported on last night here. tonight, the meeting on capitol hill today, lawmakers briefed by the president's national security adviser over russia and its desire to put a nuclear weapon in space. but what lawmakers on the hill said today when they came out of that meeting. ach rachel scott on the hill again tonight. >> reporter: tonight, the white house confirming u.s. intelligence is tracking a russian effort to deploy nuclear weapons into space. but spokesman john kirby seeking to reassure the american people. >> this is not an active capability that's been deployed. there is no immediate threat to anyone's safety. we are not talking about a weapon that can be used to

attack human becomes or cause physical destruction here on earth. >> reporter: sources tell abc news russia wants the nuclear weapons to target critical satellites, key to communications and military operations. >> we're taking this potential threat very, very seriously, and we are examining what the -- the best next steps are and what our options might be. >> reporter: the existence of russia's plans was not meant to become public. it only did because the republican chairman of the house intelligence committee mike turner issued a warning, calling on the white house to declassify information about what he called a "serious national security threat." turner did that even though he knew the white house planned to brief him and other top lawmakers today. that briefing ended just moments ago. >> i think the bottom line is, we all came away with a very strong impression that the administration is taking this very seriously, and that the administration has a plan in place. >> reporter: democrats tonight saying it's now all the more urgent for congress to approve funding for ukraine in its war against vladimir putin. >> it's very troubling that you got vladimir putin now not only

marching into ukraine and smashing up the democracy there, and destabilizing elections around the world, but actually putting nuclear technology into space in order to knock out satellites. >> reporter: the white house says it will continue to keep members of congress fully informed, with senators expected to be breached in the coming days. tonight, the administration is urging congress to pass additional aid to ukraine, saying the cost of inaction is stark. david? >> david: rachel scott, thank you. now, to the images coming in today, the fiery explosion in los angeles. nine firefighters injured, two of them in critical condition tonight. surveillance capturing the moment a truck fueled by natural gas exploded. one of its 100 gallon natural gas tanks blowing up. the firefighters rushed to the hospital. matt rivers from los angeles tonight. >> reporter: tonight, this is the moment a natural gas truck exploded in los angeles. smoke rising into the air. nine firefighters injured.

two of them critically. >> we had a small mass casualty incident, tragically, of our own members. >> reporter: the truck, which ran on natural gas instead of diesel or gasoline, catching fire shortly before 7:00 a.m. in the wilmington neighborhood, firefighters rushing to the scene. just six minutes later, one of the 100-gallon compressed natural gas tanks exploding. >> the ball of flame was as high as these telephone poles, and it actually did explode one of the transformers nearby. >> reporter: the nine injured firefighters transported to nearby hospitals. but the fire continuing to burn. first responders concerned the second cylinder could explode at any moment. >> make sure we stay 100 feet back. we have one more cylinder that has not exploded. >> reporter: more than 150 firefighters and whhawh hazardos material specialists called in, the gas from the second tank slowly released. and david, all injured firefighters, officials say, have now been stabilized, while the truck's driver was unharmed.

david? >> david: matt, thank you. when we come back here, we're tracking those two fast-moving winter storms tonight. snow and ice. the midwest and then the east. already tonight, images coming in of a 30-vehicle pileup. and tonight, the nba star arrested. what he's accused of doing before the game. lling ) during its first year, a humpback calf and its mother are almost inseparable. she lifts her calf to its first breath of air, and then protects it on their long journey. one of the most important things you can do is help the next generation. protect the ones you love with pacific life's trusted financial solutions. talk to a financial professional about life insurance and retirement income with pacific life. dry skin is sensitive skin, too. and it's natural. treat it that way. aveeno® daily moisture with prebiotic oat is proven to moisturize dry skin all day. you'll love our formula for face, too.

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went through everything, trying to find it. >> david: melanie writing to the greenville public works department, asking them if they had found the ring when they processed the recycling. and if so, to contact her. the crew read her email, and this is crew supervisor jeff hammond. >> i was first thinking, i said, well, what can we do to get this ring? if it was my wife, i'd have to get it, so -- when i got in the morning, i said, let's not dump the container, let's dump it on the ground and search and see if we can find it. >> david: they would search through this pile in the parking lot. hours later, crew member travis golden finding the ring. >> hey, david. >> david: right here tonight, travis and jeff on that diamond in the rough. >> i just started moving stuck out the way, and what do you know. >> we would hope somebody would do the same for us if we lost something that valuable. >> hi, david. >> david: melanie, with her ring tonight, grateful. >> they really do such a good job behind the scenes, every single day, and i'm thrilled

that they are getting well deserved recognition. everything they do every day really deserves our thanks and gratitude. >> david: tonight, melanie with those workers, showing the ring, and still stunned they were able to find it. that ring, back where it belongs. travis deserves some major props tonight, along a dramatic new video of an explosion that seriously injured seven firefighters in southern california in the north bay. >> dozens of teens get sick, six sent to the hospital. the investigation is on to figure out just what happened and new life for an old park in oakland. >> we'll tell you who is moving in. good afternoon. i'm kristen sze and i'm karina nova. >> we'll have more on those stories in just a few minutes. >> yeah, but first, let's take a

live look. live doppler seven there. not much out there right now, but that's about to change. >> yes it is. abc seven news meteorologist sandhya patel is here with a first look at the forecast. sandhya yeah? enjoy the dry skies that we have right now. karina and kristen. because things are really going to change. come saturday. right now we just have cloud cover as we look at live doppler seven, we are tracking our next storm. it is going to be stronger than the one that came through yesterday. now this one is due in here on saturday, but ahead of the storm tomorrow night, you could see a couple of showers near the coast or the north bay. it's really late at night, 7 a.m. saturday. the rain gets going. the winds pick up as we head into noontime . rainfall intensity will pick up. that goes on 3:00 tomorrow afternoon or saturday afternoon. excuse me as well. it is a level two for saturday. rain, heavy at times. wind gusts between 20 to 40 plus miles an hour. definitely expecting rough and dangerous surf. that's not the only storm form as we look at the wider perspective here, the storms