Classmates hiding in the corners of the classroom. What police tonight are just revealed. The verdict is in. The former Police Officer charged with shooting an unarmed black man in the back. The judges decision tonight. And the day of rage. Our correspondent witnessing the violent protests, less than 24 hours after President Trumps announce. On jerusalem. And good evening tonight from ventura, california. We are here where the thomas fire is raging out of control tonight. One of six fires now, major fires burning here in Southern California. All fueled by those santa ana winds. Gusts reaching more than 80 miles per hour. Destroying homes. And just take a look behind me tonight. This is what you see. Nothing but chimneys Still Standing for home after home. And you can see the cars that this family simply wont be able to retn sedan. So many vehicles, as far as the eye can see here in some of these neighborhoods. Almost 200,000 people have been forced to evacuate from these fires. The largest of the blazes now claiming new neighborhoods tonight. Forcing more families to flee. The 101 coastal highway, in fact, shut down for a time, flames right beside it. More than 5,000 firefighters battling the flames. And look at this image tonight. That is the smoke from the fires as seen from the space station. In a moment, were going to fly you right over the fires here in Southern California, but we begin with abcs matt gutman. Reporter tonight, Southern California is exploding like a tinderbox. New fires breaking out from san diego county, where some schools have been evacuated, to malibu. Armies of firefighters pouncing on flareups. On the ground and from the air. The thomas fire, raging across Ventura County, now scorching more than 150 square miles. La conchita early this morning. Firefighters battling with a blizzard of ambers and ash. The fire jumping the 101 freeway, one of so many arteries blocked by the flames. You can see inside this ridge, this fire is just engulching both sides of the canyon here. We watched this fire line leap down this mountain. These helicopters are dropping as much water as they possibly can on these fields. The idea is to stop the fire from getting from the charred part of the mountain down there to those avocado fields and the homes below. And just yards away, we found anthony and lenay bavero, sprinting back to their home. It was a scramble repeopled thousands of times in california this week. Lenay ripping pictures off the walls of her childrens rooms, grabbing items by the drawer full. And willing to accept any help in the dash to flee. Why the wedding dress, of all the things . Just our memories. Was 19 and weve been through so much. Reporter parts of Southern California now facing some of the most critical fire conditions on record. Our marcus moore, embedded with firefighters in faria beach. We have firefighters that lost their homes. So, it is personal. Reporter back in los angeles the skirball fire that turned the 405 freeway into a hellscape, now 20 contained. And matt gutman is with us tonight. And matt, you mentioned there those extremely critical fire conditions being monitored very closely tonight . Reporter thats right, david. What you see right behind me is a backfire lit by firefighters. Theyre trying to create a buffer between the scorched earth and the unburned fields down there. Whats incredible about this fire is im 25 miles away from where you are, but this is the very same fire. David . Matt gutman leading us off tonight here in Southern California. Matt, thank you. I wanted to give everyone at home an idea of what these fires look like from the air tonight. Were joined right now by j. T. Kabc. J. T. , i know the flames are burning as we speak. The fires are stick out of control. Reporter a very massive fire, this fire, the thomas fire. Lets take you odds right now and show you those flames. This is in the canyon on the northeast flank of this fire. Were going to pull out to try to give you a little bit perspective just how large this 96,000 acre fire is. Thats 150 square miles thats only 5 contained. That is a look from us on the northeast flank. Looking back to your area, which is about 25 miles away. Were going to fade in our Satellite Technology from sky map 7 to give you an idea what this area looks like, were going to right through ojai. The Pacific Ocean in the background. That gives you an idea how vast and how far this fire is burning. It is burning with the santa ana winds behind it. 25, 35, 45 miles an hour and greater out of the northeast to the southwest, pushing this, flames to the beach communities down where you are at, david. And we know tho thosemileperhour readings that you talk about are wind gusts, not sustained winds, but that is all you need, is a wind gust to carry an ember anywhere from a mile or two, and then launch another fire. And j. T. , the real concern from authorities i talked to here on the ground, the fire chief just a short time ago, is the fact that these winds are not about to let us. Reporter they are not. They are blowing very, very hard for the past three or four days and they dont see any end in sight. These winds are extremely strong and taking these embers and spots fires, five, ten miles down range. That is the big concern with Fire Fighters right not over the thomas fire. The spotting ahead and threatening homes in the area where you are at. All right, j. T. , thanks to you and the entire team at kabc tonight. As i mentioned, i spoke a short time ago with the fire chief right here in Ventura County. I asked him what hes most worried about going into the evening tonight, and how long these fires could actually last. And his answer was alarming. Whats your concern going into tonight . Now. Mother nature really decides when were going to be able to put the fire out. So, right now, what were doing is trying to stay ahead of it. Make sure we evacuate and protect structures. Reporter what are they telling you to expect as far as the winds are concerned . We have gusts 40 to 60 miles an hour coming hard of the east. That pushes the fire really hard in a westerly direction. Reporter were talking about homes, apartment buildings . We expect that number is going to go up significantly. Reporter there was a hospital . There was. Homes, peoples livings destroyed. Reporter tonight, at least 150 strk sures here in Ventura County are destroyed. The fire chief telling me that number will go far higher. Assessment teams are og at this hour surveying the damage. You can see so many homes are wiped out by the fires. You can heard the winds behind us, and along the front of these homes, so afternoon you see what was the family car, completely melted. The glass completely melted over what was the backseat of this car. And everywhere you look in these neighborhoods weve traveled through, this is what you see. The front walkways leading right up to the front door that was once there. And as we walk beyond the front gate at this home, we see the same thing, over and over again. You can see here, stairs everywhere, stairs to nowhere now. How many more days do you foresee this being an active, multiple fire situation . Oh, shoot, in the absence of rain, i could see it easily going to christmas. Reporter really . Yes. Reporter and as we were there with the fire chief, an unexpected delivery. The thompson girls, their home is okay. Thank you very much. Reporter show me what you brought for the firefighters here. So, we brought ham and cheese, turkey and cheese. Reporter ham and cheese, turkey and cheese. And we had peanut abutter an jelly, but theyre gone. Reporter appreciate it. The thompson sisters, a little ray of light for the firefighters working so hard here. You did hear that fire chief there talking about the santa ana winds and telling me there is a possibility these fires could be burning straight up through the holiday. Theyre looking at several days of winds and no rain for several days out. So, lets bring in rob marciano, hes been here in the fire zone for days. And rob, whats the forecast looking like tonight . This is alarming. Single digits across the board. That is tinderbox. And of course, the winds, gusting 40 to 60 miles an hour over the next 24 to 36 hours. Dangerous conditions right through sunday. David . All right, rob marciano with us again tonight. Rob, thank you. In the meantime, we do move of this evening. Senator al franken announcing he will resign, after multiple allegations of sexual misconduct. And calls from his democratic colleagues, beginning with several prominent women in the senate over the last 24 hours, calling on him to resign. But in his own words today, franken pointed to what he called the irony, the allegations against the current president and against roy moore, running for senate, both with strong support from the republican party. Here tonight, abcs mary bruce. Reporter al franken walking to the Senate Floor Today to announce hes leaving for good. In the coming weeks, i will be resigning as a member of the United States senate. Reporter eight women have accused the minnesota democrat of sexual misconduct. Franken has apologized for some of his behavior, but today he made one thing clear some of the allegations against me are simply not true. Reporter still, hes bowing to the demands of dozens of his democratic colleagues who pushed him to resign. But not without this parting trump and Alabama Senate candidate roy moore. I, of all people, am aware that there is some irony. In the fact that i am leaving, while a man who has bragged on tame about his history of Sexual Assault sits in the oval office and a man who has repeatedly preyed on young girls campaigns for the senate with the full support of his party. Reporter more than a dozen women have accused President Trump of sexual misconduct. He insists theyre all liars. The White House Press secretary today defended her boss. Ive never felt anything but treated with the highest level of respect and been empowered to do my job. So, i think thats a pretty good start and a pretty good example on that front. Reporter republicans are now in a tough spot. The alabama election is on tuesday. Moore has denied accusations of inappropriate behavior from eight women, including two who say he assaulted them as teenagers. Im going to let the people of alabama make the call. Reporter Mitch Mcconnell says, if elected, moore would immediately face an ethics investigation are you concerned here that it looks like the parties are operating by different standards when it comes to Sexual Harassment . No. Franken didnt have to resign. There was clearly no due process. But when you have everybody coming after you, thats what he chose to do. But but thats really up to franken and up to moore, not up to the parties. And mary bruce with us live tonight up on the hill. Mary, i know there is news breaking right now at this hour about yet another member of congress . What can you tell us . Reporter david, this time, it is a republican. We have just learned moments ago that arizona congressman trent franks is resigning. Hes known as a conservative fire brand, especially on social issues. He now becomes the third member of congress to resign just this week. David . Mary bruce on the hill for us again tonight. Mary, thank you. And next here this evening, a gunman opening fire, killing two students. The chilling scene, as the students are led away from the school, their hands on their heads, their parents rushing to the scene today, and heres abcs Clayton Sandell with what weve just learned on that front. Reporter at this new Mexico High School today, a lesson in extreme, tragic violence. I just never had thought that Something Like this would ever happen to me. Its just really scary and hard to believe. Reporter in the small town of aztec this morning, around 8 00 a. M. , a gunman enters the school and begins shooting. We need to go classroom by classroom and remove the kids move them to the gym. Reporter two students, a male and a female, were killed. Officers, some with their own kids at the school, arrived within a minute of the first call. We could hear casings hitting the floor. Reporter the gunman is now dead. Police will not say if he was a student or how he died. And david, Law Enforcement sources tell abc news that the responding officers had to shoot through a locked door in order to get into the school. Upstairs, they found the alleged gunman dead. A handgun and multiple magazines next to the suspect. David . Clayton sandell with us tonight. Clayton, thank you. Next here, to the russia investigation, and questions tonight about donald trump jr. s answers on capitol hill. About that trump tower meeting with the russian lawyer during the campaign. The president s son refusing to answer questions about what he told his father about that meeting, claiming Attorney Client privilege. Heres abcs chief White House Correspondent jonathan karl. Reporter tonight, the white house is facing questions about why donald trump jr. Is refusing to Tell Congress what he told his father after news broke about that controversial meeting in trump tower with a russian lawyer. Trump jr. Spent about eight hours before the House Intelligence Committee, answering questions about his june 2016 meeting. He had been told the russian lawyer had dirt on Hillary Clinton as, quote, part of russia and its governments support for mr. Trump. Trump jr. Acknowledged discussing the but he refused to describe that discussion, citing Attorney Client privilege, because he said lawyers for him and his father were also on the phone. The top democrat on the Committee Says thats bonus. In my view there is no Attorney Client privilege that protects a discussion between father and son. Reporter we put that to the White House Press secretary. We believe that his lawyers had a legitimate reason and basis for not answering the questions, but thats something i would direct you to his attorneys to address more fully. Reporter but can you explain to me how it can be Attorney Client privilege when neither donald trump nor President Trump are attorneys . Again, thats something that you would have to talk with don jr. s attorneys about. Thats not something im able to comment from here. Reporter trump jr. Hasnt said anything on the subject since his marathon testimony yesterday. But he did share a picture of the helicopter he presumably took back to new york, writing, time to roll. The top democrat on the House Intelligence Committee is threatening to subpoena donal central communication about a p pifal meeting, he says that donald trump jr. Has to answer questions about what he and his father discussed. David . Jon karl live at the white house for us. Jon, thank you. And a reprieve from a possible Government Shutdown tomorrow night. President trump meeting with republican and Democratic Leaders of congress at the white house today, to discuss a new budget. Both sides calling it, quote, productive. Meantime, the house and the senate both voting to move the shutdown deadline, now to december 22nd, three days before christmas. Obviously, that puts off the tough negotiating now for another two weeks. And just 24 hours after the president made that announcement about jerusalem, officially recognizing it as the capital of israel and saying, we will move the embassy there, there have already been flareups and prote protests. And abcs James Longman witnessing it firsthand tonight. Reporter tonight, the violence President Trump was warned about. Him, after his announcement recognizing jerusalem as israels capital. Anger boiling over in the streets. Hezbollahs leader tonight blasting trump, saying he fired the last bullet at the Peace Process. Palestinians throwing rocks at israeli forces. The israelis firing back. Weve been watching this back and forth between young men and the Security Forces all day. Theyve been our team caught in the tear gas used to disperse the crowds. These scenes, you often see in this part of the world. The fear this time is if people really start to believe that the Peace Process is dead then these grow. Over 100 injured in palestinian territories. Protesters doused with water cannons. Tonight, the leaders of hamas denouncing President Trump, even calls for a third intifada, or uprising. Trumps speech has lit a spark. David . James longman, thank you. Theres still much more ahead on world ne the case making national headlines, and the verdict is now in. The former Police Officer charged with shooting an unarmed black man in the back as he ran away following a traffic stop. The judges decision tonight. That story coming up. Also, the new headline, and its alarming, about this years flu season. How bad could it get and how effective is the flu vaccine this year . And the pileup on the american highway. Dozens of vehicles caught in a Chain Reaction crash. A lot more news ahead. News ahead. For my constipation, my doctor recommended i switch to miralax. S make your body go by forcefully stimulating the nerves in your colon. Miralax is different. It works with the water in your body to hydrate and soften. Unblocking your system naturally. Miralax. When this guy got a flat tire in the middle of the night. Hold on dad. Liberty did what . Yeah, Liberty Mutual 24hour roadside assistance helped him to fix his flat so he could get home safely. My dad says our insurance doesnt have that. Dont worry i know what a lug wrench is, dad. Is this a lug wrench . Maybe . You can leave worry behind when liberty stands with you™. Liberty stands with you™. Liberty mutual insurance. Whstuff happens. Old shut down cold symptoms fast with maximum strength alka seltzer plus liquid gels. We turn next tonight to the case making national headlines. Former Police OfficerMichael Slager sentenced for the unarmed shooting of a black man after a traffic stop. Heres Abcs Steve Osunsami tonight. Reporter the former South CarolinaPolice Officer in this alarming cell phone video is headed to federal prison tonight for 20 years, one of the langest sentences ever handed down to an officer in a racially charged shooting. In court, families on both sides broke into tears as the judge sent 36yearold Michael Slager away. From the beginning, he claimed selfdefense. I fired until the threat was stopped. Reporter but today, judge david norton refused to believe this, saying slager shot an unarmed man in the back as he ran away. My soul is rejoicing right now. Reporter the family of 50yearold walter scott told slager they forgive him for everything. Slager says hes grateful, telling them i wish i could go i accept it, and we want to move on. Reporter there were no winners here. One man is dead, another is leaving behind a young child as he heads to prison. Slagers team has two weeks to decide if theyll appeal. David . Steve, thank you. When we come back, the new health alert about the flu season. Just how bad will it get . Also, that huge pileup on an american highway. And the mystery solved tonight. Who bought that da vinci . Well be right back. And the wolf huffed and puffed. Like you do sometimes, grandpa . It can be hard to breathe. It can be hard to get air out, which can make it hard to get air in. So i talked to my doctor. She said. Symbicort could help you breathe better, starting within 5 minutes. Symbicort doesnt replace a rescue inhaler for sudden symptoms. Symbicort helps provide significant improvement of your lung function. Symbicort is for copd, including chronic bronchitis and emphysema. It should not be taken more than twice a day. Symbicort contains formoterol. Medicines like formoterol increase the risk of death from asthma problems. Symbicort may increase your risk of lung infections, osteoporosis, and some eye problems. 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Tonight, Winter Weather advisories in effect from louisiana to north carolina. Several inches of snow possible. The new health alert about the flu tonight. Researchers at the cdc warning flu season is off to an early and potentially severe start. High flu activity reported in louisiana, mississippi, South Carolina. Flu season usually reaches peak between now and february. Health officials already warning the flu shot may only be 10 effective, but they say you should still get it. The mystery buyer revealed tonight. The last da vinci selling for 450 million. We reported on it here. Well, now the buyer turns out to be mohammed bin salman. The painting is now headed to the louvre abou diaby. When we dom back here tonight, even among all the devastation, the strength. And youll see it firsthand. Ts of a life well lived . Is it the places you go . Or the people that fill it with meaning . 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Abracadabra, bro. The bank of america mobile banking app. The fast, secure and simple way to send money. Finally tonight, the strength of the people here. Rachel lipscomb, just 11. Her precious books, gone. Frightened horses led to safety. And there is relief tonight for one los angeles family. Lapd officer tae kim rescuing their cat. Judy hofmannsanders could only watch as her shadow hills home was consumed. Overcome, she hugs a firefighter. One of thousands in Southern California risking their lives to save the homes here. This community, so grateful. Those sisters we met here, telling me why theyre thinking of the firefighters. We brought sandwiches for them. Reporter why did you do that . Because theyre helping us. I vorite holiday tradition is back. I could be your secret santa. What i win. You win. Our secret santas are giving away over 1 million in cash and prizes to lucky wheel watchers. And you could be next. Have your spin id ready. 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