evening. we'll see you in half an hour at 6:00. tonight, breaking news. the showdown between the u.s. and iran. after iran shoots down a u.s. navy drone. tonight, right here, the new u.s. surveillance showing the massive $100 million drone as big as the wingspan of a 737, plummeting from the sky. hit by the iranians, they say it was in iranian airspace. the u.s. says that's not true. and tonight, president trump now saying maybe iran made a mistake. that it could have been someone, quote, loose and stupid. and breaking now as we come on the air, what we're now learning after an emergency meeting in the situation room. martha raddatz and mary bruce standing by live. the stunning turn tonight in the war crime trial of a former navy s.e.a.l., accused of murdering a prisoner. a fellow navy s.e.a.l. taking the stand today and telling the court, "i was the one who murdered the prisoner." the courtroom shocked, prosecutors yelling. we're tracking a major storm system up and down the east coast tonight. the state of emergency already. rob times it out. also tonight, 72 police officers in philadelphia alone taken off the streets. what they allegedly did, and tonight, the other cities now investigating, too. joe biden doubling down tonight, refusing to apologize. >> apologize for what? >> his democratic opponents pouncing. the manhunt tonight after an armed robbery at a bank in broad daylight. today, the masked men terrorizing workers inside. and the heartfelt message tonight from a country star and his wife after their 3-year-old son died, drowning in a pool. tonight, why they hope parents will listen. good evening. and it's great to have you with us here on a thursday night. and we are monitoring this showdown between the u.s. and iran tonight, reaching a new flashpoint after the iranians shot down an american surveillance drone. here are the pictures tonight from the pentagon. new u.s. surveillance that they say shows that drone that was struck falling from the sky. they say the iranians used a surface to air missile to do this. to give you an idea of what this drone looks like, this is the type of surveillance drone, as wide as the wingspan of a 737. iran says the u.s. was in iranian airspace. the u.s. says they were not. president trump suggesting today maybe the shootdown was a mistake, that it could have been someone, quote, loose and stupid. but tonight, news coming out of an emergency meeting in the situation room, and martha raddatz leads us off with new images tonight now from the iranians, seeming to declare this was no mistake. >> reporter: iran claims this is its surface to air missile streaking towards the u.s. drone last night at 7:30 p.m. eastern time, exploding on impact, a huge fireball filling the screen. the video is not verified. the u.s. military also releasing its own video of the stricken aircraft plummeting into the water. shortly after, iranian tv announces the shootdown, claiming it was in iranian airspace. its revolutionary guard corps stating, "an enemy that violates our borders will not return and will be destroyed." the global hawk, one of america's most sophisticated unmanned surveillance aircraft, its wingspan as broad as a 737, took off from an airbase in the uae hours earlier, monitoring the gulf of oman, where recent attacks were carried out on oil tankers, and over the strait of hormuz, that vital oil shipping airway, if international airspace, says the u.s. when the drone was hit, the u.s. navy surging its partner ships through seas to the debris field to recover what they could of the classified aircraft. at 10:15 a.m., after president trump is briefed, he tweets this stern warning, "iran made a very big mistake!" just over an hour later, iran's foreign minister firing back on twitter, "we don't seek war, but will zealously defend our skies, land and waters." at 12:15, the u.s. military weighs in, pinpointing where the drone was hit, some 21 miles from the iranian coast, well away from the 12-mile territorial limit, in sharp contrast to the iranian claim the drone went down over its territorial waters. >> this was an unprovoked attack on a u.s. surveillance asset that had not violated iranian airspace at any time during its mission. iranian reports that this aircraft was shot down over iran are categorically false. >> reporter: at 12:40 today, from the oval office, president trump with further warnings. >> they made a very bad mistake. >> reporter: but then, a strange twist. the president seeming to question whether iran intended to shoot down the drone and even the significance of the attack. >> i would imagine it was a general or somebody that made a mistake in shooting that drone down. i find it hard to believe it was intentional, if you want to know the truth. i think that it could have been somebody who was loose and stupid that did it. >> and martha raddatz, who was on the air with me today, with us live tonight. and as this was unfolding, martha, tonight, the president even suggesting it could have been a mistake, but the iranians, as you reported there, are not backing off their claims of responsibility tonight. >> reporter: they aren't, david. and as you know, miscalculation has always been a fear during this incredibly tense time with iran, but today, iranian officials themselves made it very clear, this wasn't some rogue iranian officer accidentally firing a missile, iran shot that drone down on purpose, david. >> martha raddatz leading us off tonight. martha, thank you. there was an emergency meeting in the situation room late today at the white house. leaders of both parties urgently headed to the white house. and mary bruce is there tonight. >> reporter: late today, president trump summoning congressional leaders to the situation room for an emergency briefing on iran. house speaker nancy pelosi with a warning. >> i don't think the president wants to go to war. there's no appetite for going to war in our country. >> reporter: many republicans are also urging caution. >> continue doing what we're doing. military restraint, maximum pressure otherwise. >> reporter: but some of trump's top allies are encouraging the president to do more. senator lindsey graham says iran needs to get ready for some, quote, severe pain. >> all i can tell you, if you're not willing to stand up to aggression, you're going to get hurt. here's what i believe about donald trump. he's a dealmaker, he's trying to avoid conflict, but this is truly a defining moment for him. >> reporter: but the president says he's not being pressured into a conflict by his own team. >> do you believe there are members of your administration who are trying to push you into conflict with iran? >> no, not at all. not at all. in fact, in many cases, it is the opposite. but i will say, look, i said, i want to get out of these endless wars. i campaigned on that. >> reporter: trump also campaigned on ending the iran nuclear deal, which he did last year. speaker pelosi says that's part of the problem. >> when we walked away from that, we lost some credibility with our allies. >> reporter: and tonight, former vice president joe biden calls trump's iran strategy "a self-inflicted disaster." >> mary bruce with us live at the white house tonight. mary, you're learning new details about the meeting in the situation room? >> reporter: well, david, coming out of that meeting, republican leader mitch mcconnell told reporters that the white house is engaged in measured responses. while democratic leader chuck schumer says he's worried that the president and his administration may be, quote, bumbling into a war. david? >> all right, mary bruce and martha raddatz tonight. thank you both. and our coverage of the u.s. and iran for now. if there are any new developments, we will bring them to you. in the meantime tonight, that bombshell that stunned a courtroom today. it happened in the war crimes trial of a former navy s.e.a.l., accused of murdering a captured isis fighter. a fellow navy s.e.a.l. taking the stand, saying he was the one who killed the prisoner. prosecutors shouting, the courtroom shocked. and here's abc's will carr. >> reporter: decorated navy s.e.a.l. edward gallagher was upbeat this morning, just before a bombshell exploded in his murder trial. one of his former team members took the stand and testified that he killed the wounded teenage isis fighter, seen in this iraqi tv video, not gallagher. prosecutors have accused gallagher, a sniper and a medic, of war crimes, including the captured teen's murder. today, they called special operator first class corey scott as a witness for their case. scott told the court he saw gallagher take out his knife and plunge it into the wounded prisoner. but then scott, who is a medic, as well, and who has immunity in exchange for his testimony, said that he, not gallagher, killed the teen by plugging his airway, claiming he acted to save the prisoner from being tortured by iraqi forces. "i knew he was going to die anyway," scott said. caught offguard, the lead prosecutor raised his voice, and accused the prosecution's own witness of changing his story and lying to protect his fellow s.e.a.l. scott later testified, "gallagher's got a wife and family. i don't think he should be spending his life in prison." gallagher's defense attorney pouncing. >> today, for the first time, somebody went to one of these witnesses and actually asked the real question -- what is the cause of death? and what we learned, chief gallagher is not guilty of murder. >> so, let's get to will carr with us live tonight. will, you've been tracking this case and you said there in your report that this navy s.e.a.l. who testified today had been granted immunity. so, what does this mean after what he said today, does he face possible charges? >> reporter: david, it means he cannot be charged with murder, but could still face a perjury charge. keep in mind that part of the s.e.a.l.'s creed is, my word is my bond. tonight, that s.e.a.l. says he's the one who killed the teenager, not his boss, who is on trial. david? >> really something in court today. will, thank you. we're going to move on now to the severe weather threat at this hour. 59 million americans in the possible path tonight. already a state of emergency in parts of new jersey. in fact, a month's worth of rain in three hours, stranding drivers, this is i-295, in national park, new jersey. and triggering water rescues in westville. the same system with damaging straight-line winds, this is greenville, texas, tonight. this is wide-ranging, this system. rob marciano tracking it all. he's live in colorado tonight. hey, rob. >> reporter: hi, david. we've had 80 damaging storm reports, including winds gusting to hurricane strength in south carolina. and right here in colorado, where a tornado watch has just been posted. you see it there on the big radar scope. it includes parts of nebraska and kansas. but that larger, slower moving system on the east coast still doing some havoc. across the carolina and georgia coastlines, still have the severe thunderstorm watches. and cleveland, pittsburgh, boy, the flood threat remains real tonight. this thing is not going to dry out until tomorrow afternoon. and the rocky mountain storm slips in, we'll see the severe weather threat tomorrow from nashville back in through colorado, where we could see more in the way of damaging winds. david? >> right there in the potential brul bulls eye in colorado. rob, thank you. and we're going to turn next tonight to philadelphia, where 72 police officers have been taken off the streets after an investigation into racist facebook posts and messages that encouraged violence. and it turns out philadelphia isn't the only major city investigating tonight. abc's whit johnson from philly. >> no justice -- >> no peace! >> reporter: tonight, growing outrage at philadelphia's city hall. >> we will not have racist police patrolling our streets. >> reporter: 72 of the city's police officers taken off the streets and placed on administrative duty, under investigation for allegedly posting offensive and racist statements on social media. >> it makes me sick, to be honest with you. it really makes me sick, because we are in a position to know better. >> reporter: the controversial posts exposed by a group called "the plain view project," which compiled the facebook activity of hundreds of individuals they identified as officers in eight u.s. cities. comments like "death to islam." others promoting violence, one meme saying, "i'll just shoot you and be done with it." and multiple references to the confederate flag. the more than 5,000 posts going back at least eight years. the philadelphia police commissioner threatening some officers may be terminated, prompting this response from the officers union -- "it's premature and irresponsible for the commissioner to tell the public that police officers will be fired without a complete investigation. our officers are entitled to due process just like any other citizen." >> whit johnson with us live tonight from police headquarters in philadelphia. and whit, this online database you speak of includes thousands of facebook posts, i know, from police officers in eight different cities. and you're learning that other departments plan a response, as well? >> reporter: david, that's right. multiple cities are now taking action, including dallas, which says it's now conducting an internal review. in st. louis, 22 officers are also under investigation, three placed on administrative leave. david? >> whit johnson with us tonight. thank you, whit. now, to the race for 2020, and joe biden refusing to apologize tonight after what he said about a time when congress worked together. biden citing segregationist senators. he said they were mean, that he didn't agree with them, but they still worked together. his democratic opponents pouncing tonight, and biden standing firm. here's abc's cecilia vega. >> reporter: tonight, one by one, the democratic presidential candidates are attacking joe biden, even as the former vice president defends himself. >> there's not a racist bone in my body. i've been involved in civil rights my whole career. period. period. period. >> reporter: it comes after biden talked about working with segregationist senators as an example of how he's able to do business with colleagues, even if they disagree. he mentioned georgia's herman talmage. "one of the meanest guys i ever knew. you go down the list of all these guys. well, guess what? at least there was some civility. we got things done." and of mississippi's james eastland, biden said, "he never called me boy. he always called me son." >> to coddle the reputations of segregationists, it's just -- it's misinformed and it's wrong. >> reporter: senator cory booker saying, quote, i'm disappointed that he hasn't issued an immediate apology. >> are you going to apologize like cory booker has called for? >> apologize for what? >> cory booker's called for it. >> cory should apologize. he knows better. >> the vice president said i should know better. and this is what i know. as a black man in america, i know the deeply harmful and hurtful usage of the world "boy" and how it was used to dehumanize and degrade. >> reporter: other rivals pouncing, too. >> i don't think you have to be touting a personal relationship with people who are very brutal segregationists. >> it's never okay to celebrate segregationists. never. >> and cecilia vega with us here tonight. cecilia, joe biden taking serious heat here, but there are some top democrats who have said publicly, stop piling on, this could hurt the whole party. >> reporter: exactly. some say attacking one of their own is not a winning strategy. and among those coming to joe biden's defense today, south carolina's james clyburn, the highest ranking african-american in the house. he told politico, quote, you don't have to agree with people to work with them. david, we've also just learned that joe biden called cory booker after those tough words that we just heard right there in our piece, the tone of that conversation, reportedly, conciliatory. >> all right, cecilia, thank you very much. and it's you and me tomorrow morning on "gma." >> reporter: see there. >> see you right and early. to other news tonight, the supreme court has ruled that a 40-foot memorial cross on public land in maryland does not violate separation of church and state. the monument was raised in 1925 to the memory of 49 fallen world war i soldiers. by a 7 to 2 majority, the justices agreed it could remain because of its historical significance. and alabama republican roy moore is taking another shot at the senate. the controversial former judge says he will run in 2020, after narrowly losing to democrat doug jones in 2017 amid allegations of sexual misconduct that he has denied. president trump had urged him not to run, tweeting, he can't win. there is still much more ahead on "world news tonight" this thursday. the urgent manhunt right now after an armed robbery at a bank in broad daylight. incredible pictures. the masked men terrorizing workers inside. and authorities are asking for the public's help tonight. the murder mystery developing this evening. a dentist fatally shot in the parking lot outside his office. and tonight, there is a person of interest. where they're searching. and later this evening, the heartfelt message from a country superstar and his wife, after their 3-year-old son died drowning in a pool. and tonight, why they hope parents and grandparents out there will listen to their story. a lot more news ahead tonight. stay tuned. story. a lot more news ahead tonight. a lot more news ahead tonight. stay tuned. you've been making headlines. smart tech is everywhere. but is that enough? i need tech that understands my business. i need tech that works at scale. dear tech, dear tech, dear tech, we're using ibm blockchain to help make sure food stays fresh. we're exploring quantum to develop next generation energy. we're using ai to help create more accessible health care. we're using iot to create new kinds of digital wallets. let's see some more headlines about that. let's expect more from technology. let's put smart to work. and i smoked while (amanda) my i was pregnant. this is the view i had of my baby in the nicu. my tip is, speak into the opening so your baby can hear you better. 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while my a1c is important, there's so much more to think about. ask your doctor about jardiance today. next tonight, country singer granger smith and his wife, amber, are sharing their personal grief tonight, hoping it helps others, after their 3-year-old son river died in a pool drowning. tonight, their message and their hope they can help families avoid the same fate. here's linsey davis. >> i don't think i've ever been more nervous to do a video. >> reporter: country music star granger smith and his wife amber opening up for the first time since the death of their son river. earlier this month, their little boy -- >> i love daddy. >> reporter: -- died in a drowning accident, and now the parents of this 3-year-old redhead with the infectious laugh say they're trying to find light in their darkest time by looking for meaning and the good in the midst of their tragedy. >> love those close to you, soak up those moments. god gave us river for three years, and that was his mission, and i don't believe that god takes anyone too soon. >> reporter: and now granger says he plans to continue to heal the best way he knows how. >> music has always been my healing. that's the place i've always turned to. >> reporter: the smiths say they are thankful to the first responders and also to the fans who raised $100,000 for dell children's hospital in austin. david? >> very brave to come forward. thank you, linsey. when we come back, the armed robbery in broad daylight. and tonight, the manhunt. the images of them taking aim at workers. and news just in tonight about the u.s. women's soccer team. what happened today at the world cup. cup. so, i started with the stats regarding my derate to severe plaque psoriasis. like how humira has been prescribed to over 300,000 patients. and how many patients saw clear or almost clear skin in just 4 months - the kind of clearance that can last. humira targets and blocks a specific source of inflammation that contributes to symptoms. numbers are great. and seeing clearer skin is pretty awesome, too. that's what i call a body of proof. humira can lower your ability to fight infections. serious and sometimes fatal infections, including tuberculosis, and cancers, including lymphoma, have happened, as have blood, liver, and nervous system problems, serious allergic reactions, and new or worsening heart failure. tell your doctor if you've been to areas where certain fungal infections are common and if you've had tb, hepatitis b, are prone to infections, or have flu-like symptoms or sores. don't start humira if you have an infection. want more proof? 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of certain cancers clater in life.k from an infection, human papillomavirus i knew widespread hpv is and while hpv clears for most, that might not be the case for him. i knew his risk increases as he gets older. i knew a vaccine could help protect him at age 11 or 12, before he could be exposed. i knew so i talked to my child's doctor. now that you know that hpv can lead to certain cancers, don't wait. talk to your child's doctor today. finally tonight here, america strong. the young woman and a battle won, and now a heart won, too. you first met montana brown when she started as a pediatric nurse at the aflac cancer center of children's health care of atlanta. >> hey, kennedy. >> reporter: it is a place she knows well. >> your mom's going to have to let you get something. >> reporter: this young nurse is a two-time cancer survivor herself. first diagnosed at the age of 2 with a rare type of childhood cancer affecting her muscles and bones, and then again at 15. both times, she was treated at the very same hospital where she returned to work, inspired by the nurses who once treated her. >> the nurses here, the love that they showed me, just really helped me and pushed me to want to become a nurse. anything you want to talk about? >> reporter: but tonight, we've learned of another milestone. beating cancer, landing that job, and after volunteering at camp sunshine in georgia for children with cancer, she met fellow cancer survivor erik harstad. and tonight, they wanted to share the news here. >> hey, david. >> this is erik and montana. >> reporter: checking in from camp sunshine. >> we wanted to let everybody know that we're getting married. >> yay! >> reporter: two young cancer survivors, now helping young people facing that same battle. and montana hoping this new development inspires them, too. >> i'm not walking through the doors as a patient anymore. and i get to be an idea of hope and inspiration for other kids. >> congratulations, montana and erik, you are an inspiration. thanks for watching. i'm david muir. i hope to see you right back here tomorrow night and first thing on "gma." good night. she was a natural born leader. she always had a smile on her face and i'll always look up to her. >> fellow officers remembering officer tara o'sullivan killed in the line of duty in sacramento. today we are learning more about her east bay ties and the man accused of shooting her. >> bart is cashing in thanks to the federal government. how the agency plans to spend millions of dollars of new money. >> plus, crews break ground today on a giant new development in san francisco. how officials hope it will help revitalize the south of market neighborhood. >> announcer: now, news to build a better bay area from abc7. >> breaking news from washington, d.c., we got the grant. >> the waiting game is over. the federal government has signed off on more than $1 billion in grants for bart. the agency had been waiting for word on the money for more than a year and it finally came. good evening. i'm dan ashley. >> and i'm ama daetz. thank you for joining us. we've been focused on transportation and bart as part of our efforts to build a better bay area. and this good news for bart came during a twitter town hall