effect at midnight. the president's tight new restrictions limiting the number of asylum seekers, allowing him to temporarily close the border when the daily average goes above more than 2,500 in between legal ports of entry. also developing tonight, those cell phone outages reported across the u.s. millions of at&t customers saying they cannot make calls to phones on other networks. erielle reshef with what we know so far. the life-threatening heat wave tonight. this early in the season. multiple states from california to texas. triple-digit temperatures and a new round of severe storms possible, including tornadoes from mississippi to minnesota. ginger zee has the forecast. in new york city, two young girls shot and wounded on a playground, just 9 and 11 years old. on capitol hill, the combative hearing. attorney general merrick garland defending the justice department from allegations of political bias, reminding lawmakers they had no role in donald trump's conviction in new york. the first witness takes the stand in the hunter biden gun trial. the prosecution entering hunter biden's laptop as evidence. what the defense claimed today. terry moran in delaware. the woman attacked by a bison at yellowstone national park. the bison lifting her off the ground. the couple magnet fishing in new york city. >> oh, it is! stacks of bills, dude. >> david: the amazing catch tonight. what they pulled out of the water. and america strong tonight. the newborn and his first photoshoot. why his face is making everyone else smile. >> announcer: from abc news world headquarters in new york, this is "world news tonight." with david muir. good evening and it's great to have you with us here on a very busy tuesday night. we'll get to those cell phone outages and the disruption for millions, some at&t users from new york city to philadelphia to chicago, multiple states, as well. but we do begin tonight with president biden taking drastic action on immigration and on the u.s./mexico border. strictly limiting the asylum process set to close the border to migrants crossing illegally when asylum numbers hit more than 2,500 along the border in between legal ports of entry. the president saying he had no choice but to take executive action, because he says republicans in congress rejected the bipartisan bill they negotiated themselves in the senate, containing many of the very reforms republicans had been demanding. they rejected it at the urging of donald trump. of course, immigration and crossings at the border, a key issue in this presidential election. so the question tonight, how soon could the border be shut down? abc's rachel scott leading us off at the white house tonight. >> reporter: president biden taking sweeping executive action to address the crisis at the border, announcing plans to strictly limit the asylum process in a move that will temporarily close the border to migrants crossing illegally at midnight tonight. >> i've come here today to do what the republicans in congress refuse to do -- take the necessary steps to secure our border. >> reporter: it comes after republicans in congress rejected a tough bipartisan border deal at the urging of donald trump, who wants to run on the issue. under today's new executive action, when migrant apprehensions average 2,500 a day over the course of a week, the asylum process for people crossing illegally would automatically shut down. they would no longer be allowed to stay in the united states while their claims are being processed. >> doing nothing is not an option. we have to act. we must act consistent with both our law and our values, our values as americans. >> reporter: the restrictions would only be lifted when apprehensions drop to 1,500 a day or less for two weeks. we haven't seen numbers that low in years. the president says there would be limited exceptions for unaccompanied children and victims of human trafficking. and he insists his position on immigration is far different than donald trump. >> i will never demonize immigrants. i will never refer to immigrants as poisoning the blood of a country. and further, i'll never separate children from their families at the border. >> reporter: today, trump says biden is only doing this because he's desperate. >> crooked joe biden is pretending to finally do something about the border, but in fact, it's all about show because he knows we have a debate coming up in three weeks. the truth is that joe biden's executive order won't stop the invasion. it's weak and it's pathetic. >> reporter: progressive democrats warn biden's move could backfire. >> they think it's going to bring republicans over or some independents. i don't think it does. and i think in the end we end up hurting the very people that we're fighting for. >> reporter: but the mayor of laredo, who stood with biden today at the white house, tells me the president had no choice. what type of impact is this going to have where you live? >> well, first of all, we don't have all the resources to deal with the migrants coming to our borders, especially medical services. we are medically underserved as it is. and we don't have a lot of infrastructure. and being able to deal with poverty and people that are homeless would be another situation that we don't want to have that happen in our community. >> reporter: david, this new policy will be triggered when the daily average of migrant apprehensions exceeds 2,500 for the week. tonight administration officials tell us we have already passed that threshold. which means starting tonight at midnight, the border will temporarily be shut down for migrants trying to enter the united states illegally and claim asylum. david? >> david: so this starts in just hours. rachel scott at the white house. rachel, thank you. we turn now to those major disruptions for millions of at&t customers, unable to make calls to other networks. at least 24 states and major cities, new york city, philadelphia, chicago, dallas, pittsburgh, and indianapolis among those reporting major issues tonight. abc's erielle reshef now with late reporting here. >> reporter: tonight at&t says they have fixed a massive issue that left customers from coast to coast unable to make or receive calls to another carrier. the website down detector, which tracks self-reported outages, showing new york city, chicago, philadelphia, dallas, pittsburgh, and indianapolis among those cities with the most reports of issues. at&t confirming in a statement that "there is a nationwide issue that is affecting the ability of customers to complete calls between carriers." at&t says a notice they sent to 911 call centers that emergency services were affected was sent in error, and 911 calls are operating normally at this time. back in february, at&t customers in major cities all over the country lost cell service for hours. that included emergency services, 911 in multiple states. and firstnet, a nationwide network for first responder and police communication. the fcc opened a formal investigation into the cause, which at&t blamed on a technical error while expanding their network. and david, the fcc says it is investigating this issue. it's still unclear how many of at&t's 100 million customers have been affected. david? >> david: we know you'll stay on it for us. erielle reshef tonight. erielle, thank you. in the meantime, now to the dangerous and life-threatening heat wave so early in the season this year. multiple states from california to texas with triple-digit temperatures. and a new round of severe storms including possible tornadoes from mississippi to minnesota. abc's chief meteorologist ginger zee tracking it all for us tonight. hi, ginger. >> hi there, david. you know, we've got excessive heat warnings for three states. nevada, arizona, and california. if las vegas gets to 110 tomorrow, it would be their earliest on record. either way, it's about three weeks early from their average. so this is early, and it will be a problem, especially if you don't have shelter, if you're spending long times outdoors. you can see some of those numbers like phoenix to 116 on thursday. even up to boise, idaho, where you're seeing 96. so it goes pretty far north as well as that high pressure system builds. it's been over mexico, but now it's expanding. and speaking of pressure systems, a low with the damaging wind right now, there's severe thunderstorms from jackson, mississippi right down into new orleans, baton rouge, and it's not just damaging wind. we had a ton of rain last night in parts of oklahoma. they'll get another big mesoscale consecutive system as we call them bringing 2 to 4 inches, david. >> david: another sign of the season, allergies, and i know you're battling through laryngitis. we sure do appreciate it, ginger, thank you. in new york tonight, the investigation, as two young girls were shot on a playground in brooklyn. authorities say the 9-year-old and 11-year-old were caught in the crossfire. here's our senior investigative correspondent aaron katersky. >> reporter: tonight, police in new york are searching for suspects who shot two girls at a playground. >> i'm feeling okay. >> reporter: 9-year-old ruanna was struck in the leg while playing near her home in brooklyn with her 11-year-old cousin empress. she was shot in the back and spoke to our station wabc from her hospital bed. >> we were playing and all i heard was, like, shots. and i heard stuff dropping on the floor. then i couldn't feel my shoulder. and my cousin started screaming about her leg. >> reporter: shots rang out yesterday at dusk as her mom watched the girls from a bench. >> be advised, the perp is still at the playground. >> reporter: police said they recovered grainy surveillance video showing what may be two suspects firing at someone. the girls were hit by stray bullets. >> a preliminary investigation reveals that there were possibly two shooters that fired at least six rounds in the direction that children were playing. >> reporter: little ruanna is now recovering at home. >> i'm devastated. i'm hurt. you know, i cried all night, all morning, and so yeah, i just want my baby to be safe. >> reporter: empress is still in the hospital. her mom, who witnessed the gunfire, telling us she "had an out of body experience where the time completely stopped." david, police called this shooting horrific. the neighborhood in brooklyn has been plagued by gang violence. that's where police are focusing their investigation tonight. david? >> david: aaron katersky here in new york. thanks, aaron. we turn now to capitol hill, and to the combative hearing. attorney general merrick garland defending the justice department from allegations of political bias, reminding lawmakers that the doj had no role in donald trump's conviction in new york state. here's our chief justice correspondent pierre thomas. >> reporter: tonight, the attorney general firing back, rebuking republican claims the department of justice is being weaponized. >> these repeated attacks on the justice department are unprecedented and they are unfounded. >> reporter: in an intense, more than five-hour hearing, garland today defiant even as he faces the threat of being held in contempt by house republicans for refusing to release the audio of president biden's interview with the special counsel over biden's handling of classified documents. >> i will not be intimidated. and the justice department will not be intimidated. >> reporter: and garland for the first time blasting false allegations that the doj and biden were behind the manhattan district attorney's prosecution and conviction of former president trump on 34 felony counts. >> that conspiracy theory is an attack on the judicial process itself. >> reporter: but republicans accusing the doj of playing politics, clearly angry about the manhattan jury's verdict. >> justice is no longer blind in america. >> they're so desperate to stop him that they're willing to use the judicial system to do so. it is a new low. >> reporter: democrats forcefully pushing back. >> these republicans don't care what's in the interest of the american people. they just care about getting their favorite felon back in the white house. >> reporter: garland says all these allegations accusing doj of playing politics come at a dangerous moment. he worries they could fuel an intensifying spike int threats of violence aimed at doj employees. david? >> david: pierre thomas live on the hill. pierre, thank you. we turn now to the president's son, the first witness taking the stand in hunter biden's federal gun trial. the prosecution entering hunter biden's laptop as evidence, and what the defense claimed today. abc's terry moran at the courthouse tonight. >> reporter: with his wife by his side, hunter biden today was back in federal court in delaware for opening statements in his trial on felony gun charges. first lady jill biden and hunter's sister ashley sat behind the defendant in a show of support, while prosecutor derek hines laid out the government's case, telling the jury "no one is above the law. it doesn't matter who you are or what your name is." the president's son, hines said, "bought a gun and lied during a background check" in 2018, knowing "he was a drug user and a drug addict" when he filled out the federal form for gun purchases. and the prosecutor painted a vivid portrait of hunter biden the crack addict, including evidence from his laptop and text messages, admitting "i'm a liar and a thief," "a user and an addict." defense lawyer abbe lowell told jurors in his opening statement hunter biden "did not knowingly violate these laws," and said that at the time he bought the gun, hunter was using alcohol, not drugs, that his behavior was "totally inconsistent" with drug use, saying "there's no such thing as a high-functioning crack addict." then the first witness, an fbi agent, played hunter biden reading his own words from the audiobook of his memoir "beautiful things," recounting his days among drug users. >> i was just as much a part of the depravity as they were. i was smoking crack every 15 minutes. >> reporter: finally, jurors saw the angry text exchange between hunter and hallie biden, his brother beau's widow and hunter's girlfriend at the time, who found the gun and ditched it in a trash can. "did you take that from me? you're being totally irresponsible and unhinged," hunter texted. hallie responding, "i just want you to be safe. that was not safe." it was a hard day in court for members of the biden family. at one point ashley biden, hunter's sister, seemed to grow emotional, dabbed her eyes with a tissue. and first lady jill biden, their mother, put her arm around her to comfort her. the prosecution's case continues tomorrow. david? >> david: terry moran in wilmington. terry, thank you. now to the israel-hamas war. and tonight, president biden in an interview with "time" magazine was asked if prime minister netanyahu was prolonging the war for his own political preservation. the president's answer making news, and he was asked that similar question again today. marcus moore inside israel tonight. >> reporter: tonight, as idf forces expand their assault in gaza, "time magazine" sitting down with president biden, asking whether he thought the israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu is prolonging the war and putting his political survival first. biden saying there is, quote, every reason for people to draw that conclusion, end quote. today, when asked a similar question again, he said this -- >> i don't think so. he's trying to work out a serious problem he has. thank you. >> reporter: it was just days ago biden endorsed a new israeli proposal for a gaza cease-fire in a new push to end the war and free the hostages. but netanyahu remains firm on his goal to destroy hamas, rejecting the plan even as a clear majority in the government and the public support it. rachel goldberg-polin's 23-year-old son hersh was pushed into the back of a pickup truck by hamas terrorists and is among those still being held hostage. for goldberg-polin the new cease-fire proposal offers some promise, but only some. do you put much hope in this? >> we're very frightened and nervous. listen, we are pawns in a game. the hostages are pawns in a game. their families are pawns in a game. >> reporter: david, at the moment, a cease-fire deal still seems elusive, but officials from egypt, the u.s. and qatar are expected to meet in doha tomorrow to try to get some movement on this. david? >> david: yeah, we cannot forget those hostages. marcus moore tonight. marcus, thank you. back here in the u.s., to wall street tonight. the new york stock exchange is canceling trades made during a technical glitch that saw dozens of stocks listed at incorrect prices yesterday. among them, warren buffett's berkshire hathaway. some shares were sold at $185 a share. the real price was over $620,000 a share. the problem apparently unrelated to the new s.e.c. rule requiring faster settling of trades. instead, the new york stock exchange tonight says the problem appears to stem from a new software release involving real-time stock price information. when we come back here tonight, the tourist attacked by a bison at yellowstone national park. the bison lifting her off the ground. there's also news coming in tonight, a lifetime ban for a major leaguer, and we'll tell you why. and here in new york city, the couple magnet fishing. what they reeled in, and what it's worth tonight. on the things you love because of asthma? get back to better breathing with fasenra, an add-on treatment for eosinophilic asthma that is taken once every 8 weeks. fasenra is not for sudden breathing problems or other eosinophilic conditions. allergic reactions may occur. don't stop your asthma treatments without talking with your doctor. tell your doctor if your asthma worsens. headache and sore throat may occur. tell your doctor if you have a parasitic infection. step back out there with fasenra. ask your doctor if it's right for you. 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