50,000 amazon jobs, salaries of 100 grand. and how far will your city go? good evening. and it's great to have you with us here on a thursday night. and we begin with that deeply personal moment at the white house today. chief of staff general john kelly coming into the briefing room, defending president trump's phone call to the family of sergeant la david johnson. and in doing so, general kelly talking about the loss of his own son, right there, in afghanistan. general kelly revealing the president asked him, what do i say when i call? and then, the general blasted the congresswoman who said the family was offended by the president's call. that family has said the same thing, general kelly did not address today, though, whether he was bothered by the president first bringing up those solemn calls early this week, comparing himself to his predecessors. abc's senior white house correspondent cecilia vega leading us off. >> reporter: this was john kelly, not just as chief of staff, but as a retired four-star general and a father, whose own son, robert, was killed in 2010, when he stepped on a landmine in afghanistan. kelly says he personally counseled president trump on how to call the grieving families of fallen soldiers. >> there's no perfect way to make that phone call. when i took this job and talked to president trump about how to do it, my first recommendation was he not do it, because it's not the phone call that parents, family members are looking forward to. it's nice to do, in my opinion, in any event. he asked me about previous presidents, and i said, i can tell you that president obama, who was my commander in chief when i was on active duty, did not call my family. that was not a criticism. that was just to simply say i don't believe president obama called. that's not a negative thing. >> reporter: kelly says he and president trump spoke before those calls to the families of the four special ops soldiers killed in niger. >> and he said to me, what do i say? i said to him, sir, there's nothing you can do to lighten the burden on these families, but let me tell you what i tell them, let me tell you what my best friend joe dunford told me, because he was my casualty officer. he said, kel, he was doing exactly what he wanted to do when he was killed. he knew what he was getting into by joining that 1%. he knew what the possibilities were, because we're at war. and when he died and the four cases we're talking about niger and my son's case in afghanistan, when he died, he was surrounded by the best men on this earth, his friends. that's what the president tried to say to four families the other day. >> reporter: the president did tell the widow of sergeant la david johnson that her husband knew what he was signing up for. but the president's message, and how it was delivered, did not sit well with sergeant johnson's mother, who told "the washington post," "president trump did disrespect my son, and my daughter, and also me and my husband." and democratic florida congresswoman frederica wilson, who also listened to that call on speakerphone, went public with her frustration. >> he kept referring to him as your guy. he never called his name. so that was even more painful. >> reporter: today, kelly defended his boss. >> in his way, tried to express that opinion, that he's a brave man, a fallen hero. he knew what he was getting himself into, because he enlisted. there's no reason to enlist. he enlisted. and he was where he wanted to be, exactly where he wanted to be, with exactly the people he wanted to be with when his life was taken. that was the message. that was the message that was transmitted. >> reporter: and he lashed out at the congresswoman. >> it stuns me that a member of congress would have listened in on that conversation. absolutely stuns me. and i thought at least that was sacred. >> reporter: but kelly did not address president trump's role in this controversy, that he was the one who ignited the firestorm when he turned a question about those four fallen soldiers in niger into a political swipe at his predecessors. >> the traditional way, if you look at president obama and other presidents, most of them didn't make calls. a lot of them didn't make calls. i like to call when it's appropriate, when i think i'm able to do it. >> and cecilia vega with us live from the white house tonight. and cecilia, chief of staff john kelly made it very clear how upset he was with that congresswoman. do we know if he was at all upset with the president earlier this week, who first brought up those very solemn calls that are often kept private, comparing himself to his predecessors? >> reporter: well, david, i'm told that john kelly is indeed very angry, but his anger tonight is not directed at president trump, it is indeed directed at congresswoman wilson and at the media, for what this administration very much views as unfair attacks on this president. i'm told this was john kelly's idea to come out and talk to these cameras today, he very much publicly wanted to address this. david? >>ilia vega leading us off at the white house. cecilia, thank you. it was monday in the rose garden when the president was asked about the deaths of four u.s. servicemen, part of a green beret team, all special ops, killed in an ambush in niger. 12 days had already gone by with no comment from the president. it was then the president began to talk about those solemn calls. well, tonight, the pentagon has now revealed it has launched an official investigation. how did these four men die? and did they have the intelligence and the backup that they needed to get out? abc's chief investigative correspondent brian ross. >> reporter: the deadly ambush in this remote african village happened more than two weeks ago. but tonight, the pentagon is still not providing a full and cogent narrative of how four american soldiers died after being attacked by an overwhelming force of more than 50 militants. officials said the full investigation, only announced today, is still ongoing. >> subsaharan africa is a very difficult place to operate. so, we will -- we'll investigate this. we'll have conclusions and those conclusions will be presented. i'm not prepared to go further. >> reporter: two key questions remain tonight. one, did the unit have the proper advance intelligence and backup air and ground support in case something went wrong? officials said the unit did not expect to be in combat. >> over the last six months, we have conducted 29 partnered patrols in this general area without contact of any kind. >> reporter: a second question. did sergeant la david johnson get left behind when the rest of the unit pulled out? his body was not recovered for at least 20 hours. >> it took us a little while to do that, but we didn't leave him behind and we searched until we found him and we brought him home. >> reporter: u.s. forces have been in niger for the last four years, as the threat from this terror group has escalated, with its leader last year pledging allegiance to isis. >> there's a reason we have u.s. army soldiers there and not the peace corps, because we carry guns. >> reporter: as controversy swirled over the ambush in niger, the president was taking credit for u.s. victories against isis. >> i totally changed the attitudes of the military and they have done a fantastic job. yeah, isis is now giving up. they're giving up. they're raising their hands. they're walking off. nobody's ever seen that before. >> why didn't that happen before? >> because you didn't have trump as your president. >> brian ross with us again tonight. and brian, we took note that senator john mccain said today that he may need a subpoena to get answers on niger? >> reporter: david, at one point, the senator told abc news he did not think the administration was being upfront about what happened in niger, even suggesting, as you say, that as chairman of the armed services committee, he might issue a subpoena to get the information he wants and needs. >> brian ross with us tonight. brian, thank you. meantime, after president trump spoke about his predecessors earlier this week, two of them tonight are making rare public appearances. george w. bush here in new york city, who has kept a very low profile since leaving office, now breaking his silence on what he's seeing in america today. here's abc's chief white house correspondent jonathan karl. >> reporter: george w. bush has avoided politics since leaving office, but today, the former president seemed to throw down the gauntlet, warning of the rise of, quote, bullying and prejudice in america. >> bigotry seems emboldened. our politics seems more vulnerable to conspiracy theories and outright fabrication. we've seen our discourse degraded by casual cruelty. at times, it can seem like the forces pulling us apart are stronger than the forces binding us together. >> reporter: the former president never mentioned the current president, but much of the speech seemed directly aimed at the words and policies of donald trump. >> we've seen nationalism distorted into nativism, forgotten the dynamism that immigration has always brought to america. >> reporter: and while trump has been criticized for being slow to condemn racists, bush drew a bright line. >> bigotry or white supremacy in any form is blasphemy against the american creed. [ applause ] >> reporter: former president obama was also making a rare public appearance today, campaigning for democratic candidates in new jersey and virginia. >> hello, everybody! >> reporter: no mention of president trump, but also no mistaking his target. >> some of the politics we see, now we -- we thought we put that to bed. it's the 21st century. not the 19th century. come on. >> and jon karl with us live from the white house, as well. and jon, back to former president george w. bush today, because on russian meddling, he said the russian government has made a project of turning americans against each other? >> reporter: former president bush really sounded the alarm on this, saying that russian interference amounts to, quote, a sustained attempt by a hostile power to exploit our country's divisions. david? >> jon karl with us tonight, as well. thank you, jon. and you heard former president bush there talking about racism and bigotry in this country. it came as there was a state of emergency in florida, as a white nationalist was about to take the stage. he was involved in the protests in charlottesville and he was about to talk in gainesville, florida, and you're about to see what happened next. here's abc's victor oquendo tonight. >> reporter: white nationalist richard spencer booed from the moment he walked on stage at the university of florida. >> go home spencer! go home spencery, >> reporter: the crowd standing and shouting, "go home." >> go home spencer! >> reporter: these students right behind me here, chanting and booing the entire time. spencer, a key figure in charlottesville. >> we'll never -- we'll never back down. >> reporter: where we saw those haunting images and violent flashes. the florida governor declaring a state of emergency in preparation for spencer's speech today in gainesville. hundreds of protesters gathering outside the site of the speech. >> we need to show that the u.s., that gainesville, that the state of florida condemns richard spencer and his ideology. >> reporter: the afternoon, mostly peaceful, then, this flareup. the crowd surrounding this man wearing a t-shirt covered in swastikas. his mouth bloody. law enforcement working quickly to clear the scene. and on that stage, spencer trying to speak through the noise, but the chants continuing, drowning him out. >> now it's time for me to speak. i will stand here all day if i have to. >> reporter: when he walked off the stage, richard spencer thanked the university of florida. he said he was happy to be here and that he will continue his fight. david? >> victor oquendo tonight. victor, thanks. and next, to the massacre in las vegas. tonight, we have new reporting here about those fateful 12 minutes, and when police finally arrived. and which teams were actually able to get there first? abc's matt gutman again tonight. >> reporter: tonight, new details about those 12 critical minutes as police responded to the las vegas rampage. abc news has learned that there were police officers in the mandalay bay hotel securing another event when stephen paddock opened fire. but the hotel complex is so vast that police say officers who were across the street at the country music concert got there faster. running through the streets in that rain of bullets. one of the things that's most striking, when you see this from the air, is the vast distance from that suite up on the 32nd floor down to the concert venue down below. by the time police arrived, the shooting had stopped. 12 minutes after security officer jesus campos was wounded and radio'ed for help. in his first interview, campos telling ellen degeneres he'd been sent to investigation an open door in the stairwell. >> as that door is closing, and it's so heavy, it will slam. i'm walking down this way, and i believe that's what caught the shooter's attention. as i was walking down, i heard rapid fire. >> reporter: the gunman shooting through his hotel room door, hitting campos in the leg. with this new timeline, the remaining mystery is, why did stephen paddock do this? now, police tell me that he was so secretive that we may never know. david? >> matt gutman again tonight. thank you, matt. president trump welcoming puerto rico's governor to the white house today, four weeks after the hurricane struck. just 21% of the island has power. more than a quarter of the island still does not have drinking water. president trump and the governor today. >> i give ourselves a ten. i think it was worse than katrina. it was, in my ways, worse than anything people have ever seen. >> the governor saying the island still needs more resources, and that's why he came to see the president. there is still much more ahead on "world news tonight" this thursday. the emergency landing, the plane coming down onto cars, slamming into them. multiple injuries tonight. we'll have reporting from the scene. also, the passenger jet coming so close to that tower. tonight, what we've learned, what happened inside the cockpit. and breaking news late today. what the lapd has just revealed about harvey weinstein. a lot more news ahead. things than ter rheumatiod arthritis. before you and your rheumatologist move to another treatment, ask if xeljanz xr is right for you. xeljanz xr is a once-daily pill for adults with moderate to severe ra for whom methotrexate did not work well. it can reduce pain, swelling and further joint damage, even without methotrexate. xeljanz xr can lower your ability to fight infections, including tuberculosis. serious, sometimes fatal infections, lymphoma and other cancers have happened. don't start xeljanz xr if you have an infection. tears in the stomach or intestines, low blood cell counts and higher liver tests and cholesterol levels have happened. your doctor should perform blood tests before you start and while taking xeljanz xr, and monitor certain liver tests. tell your doctor if you were in a region where fungal infections are common and if you have had tb, hepatitis b or c, or are prone to infections. xeljanz xr can reduce the symptoms of ra, even without methotrexate. ask your rheumatologist about xeljanz xr. i'm vern, the orange money retirement rabbit, from voya. i'm the money you save for retirement. who's he? 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the pilots were reportedly performing an "honor lap," a stunt to say good-bye. inside that airplane, there was no panic. the pilots had alerted passengers about their move. it was all reminiscent of "top gun." >> it's time to buzz the tower. >> reporter: but that's hollywood. there were hundreds of people onboard that air berlin plane. today, those pilots have been suspended. german authorities are investigating, and the airline has released a statement, saying, "in aviation, safety comes first. we take the incident very seriously." david? >> terry moran with us tonight. thank you, terry. when we come back tonight, 50,000 amazon jobs. some salaries of 100 grand. what some american cities are doing to try to win the jobs. also, the plane crash, smashing into cars. the injuries tonight. there is also late word on harvey weinstein coming in. on the lapd has revealed. ha harvey weinstein coming in. what the lapd has revealed. how much money do you think you'll need in retirement? then we found out how many years that money would last them. how long do you think we'll keep -- oooooohhh! you stopped! you're gonna leave me back here at year 9? 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"the l.a. times" reporting that police today met with an italian actress and model accusing weinstein of sexually assaulting her in a hotel in 2013. more than 40 women have now accused him of assault and sexual harassment. and amazon is looking for a new home. today is the deadline for dozens of cities to submit bids, hoping the seattle-based company will choose them for its second headquarters. amazon now promising up to 50,000 jobs. some salaries up to $100,000. bids from new york to pittsburgh, kansas city to tucson. even an atlanta suburb now offering to change its name to amazon if selected. good luck. when we come back tonight, america strong. and this question for you. do you remember what your school cafeteria was like? we guarantee, it wasn't like the one you're about to see. what are the ingredients is it the places you go? the things you own? or the people that fill it with meaning? for 150 years, generations of families have chosen pacific life for retirement and life insurance solutions. protecting what's most important to you. that's the power of pacific. ask a financial advisor about pacific life. the unpredictability of a flaree may weigh on your mind. thinking about what to avoid, where to go, and how to work around your uc. that's how i thought it had to be. but then i talked to my doctor about humira, and learned humira can help get and keep uc under control... when certain medications haven't worked well enough. humira can lower your ability to fight infections, including tuberculosis. serious, sometimes fatal infections and cancers, including lymphoma, have happened; 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