southern border tonight. texas governor greg abbott using state-owned vehicles to create what he's calling a steel barrier, with the migrant crisis on the border. and there is news tonight involving some of those border patrol agents seen on horseback, confronting migrants. the crucial meetings at the white house. will president biden be able to unite democrats behind his sweeping infrastructure and spending plans? cecilia vega tonight with what speaker pelosi said today about whether this will happen. overseas tonight, our reporter and what he witnessed. the lava destroying hundreds of homes, forcing mass evacuations tonight. james longman on the scene. here at home, we're tracking severe storms from detroit all the way to the northeast. heavy rain, wind gusts up to 70 miles per hour. and the tornado watch as we come on in parts of pennsylvania. tonight, costars and fans paying tribute to actor willie garson, best known for his role on "sex and the city." and america strong tonight. the oldest park ranger in america. and she has just turned 100. good evening and it's great to have you with us here on a wednesday night. and we begin with that breaking headline at this hour involving those key decisions that will effect millions of americans on booster shots. who will get them first and how soon? tonight, the fda has now authorized boosters. the cdc set to lay out for whom and when. this would be for those who got the pfizer vaccine. pfizer applied for authorization first. decisions on moderna and johnson & johnson boosters could come within weeks. abc's steve osunsami is at the cdc in atlanta tonight. >> reporter: the fda is saying yes tonight to the pfizer booster shots, which means that americans who've already gotten two shots of the pfizer vaccine could get a third as early as friday. >> it's a reasonable decision to provide a third dose to people for whom it appears that immunity is waning, and severe infection is an increasing risk in the age of delta. >> reporter: at the cdc, they're still debating tonight who all should be getting the extra shot, focusing on people who are 65 and older or who have health conditions that put them greater risk to covid or front line workers whose jobs put them at risk. the shots are already making a difference. our medical team has found that in states where the fewest people are vaccinated, the death rates are nearly four times higher than in states that lead the country in vaccinations. health officials now believe that an extra dose will eventually become the new standard. >> at the end of the day, i believe the correct regimen is going to be two doses at first, and a few months later, a third dose. for j&j, it will be the first dose followed a few months later by the second dose. >> reporter: americans who've gotten the moderna and johnson & johnson vaccines will have to wait at least few weeks for approval from the federal government on boosters. but already, 2 million americans with compromised immune systems have been cleared to get a third shot from pfizer. 34-year-old alison rodgers has crohn's disease. she got her extra shot in portland. >> i wouldn't be too hesitant about it. especially if you've already gotten the second one. the third one is kind of a breeze. i got it on a saturday and by monday i was back at work. >> reporter: all this planning for millions of booster shots for americans have people around the world looking sideways at drugmakers, wondering why they're not sharing their formulas with manufacturers in countries where there isn't enough vaccine to go around. on a virtual covid summit today with the united nations, president biden announced that the u.s. is now agreeing to buy another half a billion doses of the pfizer vaccine for the rest of the world, for a total of 1.1 billion doses that america is giving to people overseas. >> for every one shot we've administered to date in america, we have now committed to do three shots to the rest of the world. >> steve 0 sub sammy with the breaking news there from the cdc tonight. and steve, i know there was something else today that was somewhat encouraging, just one of the forecast models that the cdc looks at. tell us more what it shows potentially by spring and of course we know there are many variables here. >> reporter: david, researchers are out with a new forecast model that they say looks hopeful. it shows that the number of cases and deaths are likely to keep falling through the spring, as long as we don't see another outbreak of a dangerous variant. david? >> steve osunsami in atlanta tonight. steve, thank you. we're going to turn next here to the search for that person of interest, brian laundrie. that search intensifying tonight after the death of gabby petito now ruled a homicide. divers have now been called in, drones, too, in the search in that alligator-infested nature reserve. they are now using high-water vehicles, since much of that area is covered waist-deep in water. abc's trevor ault from florida tonight. >> reporter: tonight, new images of the intense search for brian laundrie. authorities bringing in a specialized dive team to search the 25,000-acre reserve, an area twice the size of manhattan, alongside their atvs, drones and canine units. 75% of the area underwater. >> we are trying to cover every acre with our law enforcement partners. they're motivated and they're hungry. >> reporter: and the public reporting thousands of tips, with rumors brian had been captured overnight proving false. >> caller is advising that a civilian, possibly be brian laundrie. >> reporter: and today, okaloosa county officials reporting they've identified the man from this trail cam image and it's not brian laundrie. neighbors say they last saw brian back at home days before gabby was reported missing. despite the fbi raiding the laundrie home monday and the coroner saying gabby's death is a homicide, brian remains a person of interest, not a suspect. >> they have a dead body and they have him driving the car, her car away from the scene all the way from out west to florida. to me that's probable cause. >> reporter: and officials in utah releasing a new witness statement from an altercation between the couple last month where police were called in. it reads in part, "i think the male took the female's phone. it appeared that he didn't want her in the white van." adding, "from my point of view, something definitely didn't seem right." crews are now wrapping up their search for the night here in florida. and david, if authorities charge brian in gabby's death, that would make him a fugitive and anybody helping him evade authorities would be committing a crime themselves. but without a charge, brian is free to run and other people, in theory, can legally help him hide. david? >> trevor ault live in florida for us again tonight. trevor, thank you. we are learning more this evening after a deadly shooting at a school bus stop in louisville, kentucky, while students were waiting for the bus to go to school. part of an alarming rise in gun violence across the country. a 16-year-old boy was killed in this case. two others injured. tonight, police are asking for the public's help. and here's our chief justice correspondent pierre thomas now. >> reporter: it was a routine morning as parents sent their teenage children to a bus stop in louisville, then -- >> they are now advising me there's going to be a shooting, it was at the bus stop where multiple children were waiting for the bus. >> reporter: just after 6:30 a.m., a 14-year-old and a 16-year-old boy shot before heading to eastern high school. the 16-year-old, who has not been identified, died. >> that sacred space was violated this rainy wednesday morning by gunfire. and a teen who should be in school today will not be there and will never be there again. >> reporter: police say it was a drive-by shooting. suspects still at large. >> a vehicle drove by and fired shots into the group of kids, striking two of the children by gunfire. >> reporter: authorities releasing the image of this gray jeep they're looking for, as the city and the neighborhood are traumatized. >> i had to hold a little boy's wound today and tell him he's going to be okay. >> reporter: the scene in louisville is one playing out across the country, as the nation is still in the midst of a massive surge of gun violence that has continued over three years. so far this year, a staggering 43,644 people shot, compared to 40,000 over the same time frame last year. david, the louisville police chief said today she has surged officers and targeted repeat offenders, but she is frustrated by the availability of guns and judges she believes are too lenient against suspects illegally carrying firearms. david? >> our chief justice correspondent pierre thomas with us. thank you, pierre. there are new images coming in tonight amid the surge of migrants at the border in texas. the governor there putting in place what he calls a steel barrier, a fleet of state-owned vehicles meant to send a message to migrants. and tonight, there is news on some border patrol agents seen in images the white house called horrific. abc's kenneth moton from texas tonight. >> reporter: tonight, this so-called "steel barrier" of vehicles, texas state troopers lining the del rio, texas, border, as federal authorities try to stop the migrant surge. today, are we seeing migrants crossing back and forth here in del rio? >> very minimum here -- very minimal here. >> reporter: a big difference here today compared to the weekend when we saw over 13,000 migrants in this encampment. as migrants leave, others taking their materials to fortify their shelters. still here, roughly 5,000 migrants, mostly haitian, mostly families with small children. the biden administration facing tough criticism over its handling of the crisis even from democrats. >> the biden administration must immediately and indefinitely halt all deportations of haitian migrants. >> reporter: tonight, some migrants now being sent to houston and other cities as they seek asylum. many staying with families and sponsors. our cecilia vega pressing the white house today hours after the dhs secretaron ined to give specific migrant numbers to lawmakers. >> do you have the numbers? how many haitians have been deported? how many have been processed and how many have been allowed to stay in the united states? >> i certainly understand why you're asking and understand why people have been asking secretary mayorkas. those are numbers that are -- the department of homeland security would have the most up to date numbers. >> no! >> reporter: and tonight, amid outrage, dhs saying the mounted border patrol agents seen aggressively trying to stop migrants from entering texas have now been placed on administrative duties and will have no contact with migrants pending the outcome of that ongoing investigation. >> and kenneth moton with us from texas again tonight. and ken, we saw cecilia press the white house there today for numbers and officials late today have now released some numbers tonight on the number of migrants now returned to haiti? >> reporter: david, as we push for numbers, the department of homeland security says since sunday, more than 1,000 migrants have been flown back to haiti and those flights will continue. david? >> ken moton in texas again tonight. thank you, kenneth. now to the crucial meetings at the white house today and the big question, will president biden be able to unite democrats, progressives and moderates, to get them behind his sweeping infrastructure and spending plans? there are two tracks here. the $1 trillion bipartisan plan and what democrats are calling the $3.5 trillion human infrastructure plan, including paid leave and early education. speaker pelosi has said along the way that that bigger plan must get passed first in the house, then they would take up the bipartisan bill. is that still the plan? can they get all democrats onboard? i want to bring in our chief white house correspondent cecilia vega tonight. and you saw this, as well. here's what speaker pelosi said today when she was asked, is this all still on track? >> we are on schedule. that's all i will say. and we're calm and everybody's good and our work's almost done. so, we're in good shape. >> all right, cecilia, speaker pelosi appearing confident there, but she's got to bring together progressives, moderate democrats, a very slim majority, of course, in the house. that majority even tighter in the senate. >> reporter: david, there are so many different factions right now that the president has spent much of his day meeting with all of these different groups separately. in fact, he's still in one of those meetings right now. you mentioned it, nearly two dozen democrats, liberals, moderates, party leaders, they were all here today. at issue, that infrastructure plan, the bipartisan trillion dollar one to improve roads and highways, traditional infrastructure, and the $3.5 trillion plan to cover these social programs like child care and fighting climate change. moderates, they are balking at that huge price tag. progressives say it is all or nothing. they want to get these social programs covered, while the white house, they've got control of the white house and minimal control of congress, but the clock is ticking. speaker pelosi has promised moderates that there would be a vote on that traditional infrastructure plan as early as monday. and david, the bottom line right now, this is a key part of president biden's agenda and unless these democrats come to an agreement, it is at risk of collapsing. >> cecilia vega with late reporting from the white house. thank you, as always. we're going to turn overseas tonight and to that slow motion disaster after that volcanic ni the pictures again n isl here. the river of lava pouring toward the sea. this is the fourth day now, threatening to destroy a key village, forcing 7,000 people from their homes. firefighters could do nothing to save this building from flames. the scene repeated over and over again. and abc's james longman in la palma again tonight. >> reporter: tonight, the 40-foot wall of lava threatening to incinerate a spanish village. 1,800-degree molten rock swallowing everything it touches on its seemingly unstoppable march through spain's la palma island. this is as close we've been able to get to the volcano. and the thing that really strikes you is the noise. just listen to that. the true scale becoming clearer. lava shooting hundreds of feet up. i could even feel its heat. when the volcano first erupted over the weekend, authorities sprang into action and it felt like things were under control, but as new fissures have opened up, lava has spread more widely and this situation feels more and more unpredictable. firefighters are working to divert this monster any way they can. >> it's complicated. it's very complicated. and now we try with heavy machines. >> reporter: they're digging trenches and building walls of earth to try to keep it away from homes. already 400 buildings have been destroyed and more are in harm's way. this woman was given 15 minutes to evacuate her home. her neighbor took her in. now they both wait to see if the lava will come their way. she tells me, "it's all our work, effort, money, of our lives. my life, my partner's life. our family. and you just don't know if you can lose it in an instant." >> so, james longman back with us tonight from la palma, and right there behind james, again, the volcano. the lava about a mile and a half from the coastline now and you were reporting crews now face that incredible challenge, trying to sort of direct the lava to keep it away from destroying more towns and more homes. >> reporter: yeah, that's right, david. and the ash is really coming down now. and actually, since i spoke to you last night, a new wall of lava has appeared right behind us. just in front of a roadway there. it's coming down onto the road. that is exactly what officials here are trying to battle, to keep homes away from this endless stream of lava. david? >> james longman. our thanks to you and the team again tonight. back here at home, one more note from washington tonight, after months of talks, bipartisan police reform talks have now ended without a deal. major sticking points, restrictions on deadly use of force, how officers should be prosecuted and on no-knock warrants. there were also divisions among police unions who were consulted during the talks. president biden tonight expressing disappointment and saying he would look for a path forward including, quote, potential executive actions. when we come back here tonight, we are tracking severe storms at this hour from detroit all the way to the northeast. the tornado watch in parts of pennsylvania and they're talking about winds potentially up to 70 miles per hour in some spots. people everywhere living with type 2 diabetes are waking up to what's possible with rybelsus®. ♪ you are my sunshine ♪ ♪ my only sunshine... ♪ rybelsus® works differently than any other diabetes pill to lower blood sugar in all 3 of these ways... increases insulin when you need it... decreases sugar... and slows food. the majority of people taking rybelsus® lowered their blood sugar and reached an a1c of less than 7. people taking rybelsus® lost up to 8 pounds. rybelsus® isn't for peopl with type 1 diabetes. don't take rybelsus® if you or your family ever had medullary thyroid cancer, or have multiple endocrin neoplasia syndrome type 2 or if allergic to it. stop rybelsus® and get medical help right away if you get a lump or swelling in your neck, severe stomach pain, or an allergic reaction. serious side effects may include pancreatitis. tell your provider about vision problems or changes taking rybelsus® with a sulfonylurea or insulin increases low blood sugar risk. side effects like nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea may lead to dehydration, which may worsen kidney problems. wake up to what's possibl with rybelsus®. ♪ please don't take my sunshine away ♪ you may pay as little as $10 per prescription. ask your healthcare provider about rybelsus® today. 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