tonight, breaking news. president biden's surprise debate challenge to donald trump. tonight, donald trump saying yes. both agreeing to two presidential debates. one right here on abc. also tonight, the chilling images, the attempted assassination overseas. and here at home, we're tracking severe storms on the move right now. first tonight, the debate showdown between president biden and donald trump. president biden issuing that challenge, former president trump accepting. the first debate before the conventions on cnn. the second debate in september,

right here on abc. mary bruce live at the white house tonight. both biden and trump convinced they can outperform the other. also tonight, the troubling images. the attempted assassination of the prime minister of slovakia. the leader shot multiple times at close range. he is now in what authorities are calling a life-threatening condition. his security detail pushing him into the car. here in the u.s. tonight, another bridge accident. a massive barge hitting a bridge near galveston, texas, causing partial collapse and an oil spill in that bay. crew members pulled from the water. the harrowing dash cam video revealed tonight in court, showing a semitruck crashing on a bridge. the truck hit by another vehicle. the driver losing control. her truck then dangling 100 feet above the ohio river. tonight, the fighting intensifying in northern gaza. israeli troops also positioned near the southern city of rafah. matt gutman with late reporting from israel. the war in ukraine.

tonight, russia increasing its attacks near kharkiv. ukrainian troops forced to pull back. tonight, ukraine says tens of thousands of russian troops are amassing along ukraine's border. and james longman is inside ukraine. tonight, another american tourist under arrest in turks and caicos. this time, an american mother, after ammunition again allegedly found in luggage. we're tracking severe storms across the south and into the east. damaging winds, large hail, possible tornadoes. tonight, after growing complaints about the rising cost of fast food, mcdonald's reveals it's about to test a new value meal. how much and what you'll get. and tonight, right here, best in show. you'll meet sage and her handler, and why this was an extraordinary moment for him. good evening and it's great

to have you with us here on a very busy wednesday night. we do begin tonight with this presidential debate showdown now coming. president biden and former president trump both agreeing to two debates. the first in just a matter of weeks on cnn, before the conventions. the earliest debate ever for a general election. it will be the first debate stage faceoff, biden versus trump, since 2020, when they met twice. early today, president biden issuing the challenge. trump, who refused to debate his primary opponents, saying yes. and within hours, two debates were set, one in june, the other in september, right here on abc. our chief white house correspondent mary bruce leading us off at the white house tonight. >> reporter: tonight, in a true campaign surprise, president biden and donald trump agreeing to two one-on-one debates, the first just a few weeks from now, at the end of june, the earliest general election showdown in american history. trump has been pushing for debates for months. >> i'm trying to get him to debate. >> reporter: this morning, biden with this surprise challenge. >> donald trump lost two debates

to me in 2020. since then, he hasn't shown up for a debate. now he's acting like he wants to debate me again. well, make my day, pal. i'll even do it twice. >> reporter: biden then taunting trump, referencing the one day a week that he's not tied up in court. >> so let's pick the dates, donald. i hear you're free on wednesdays. >> reporter: trump firing back, "just tell me when. i'll be there. let's get ready to rumble." >> i really think he has to debate. he might as well get it over with. probably should do it early so that he can -- you know, because -- he's not going to get any better. >> reporter: a short time later, the debates were set, the first on june 27th, hosted by cnn, before either candidate is declared the official nominee at their party's convention. and the second on september 10th, hosted by abc news, just weeks before voters head to the polls. there will be no live audience, just the moderators and the candidates themselves in a television studio, face-to-face. and tonight, inside the campaigns, they know how high the stakes are here. both men confident that they can

outperform the other. donald trump, of course, has been pushing for this for months. president biden eager to show the stark differences between the two of them and jump-start this race. both teams very much looking forward to this. the first debate on june 27th on cnn. the second debate, just weeks before the election, right here on abc on september 10th. and abc news tonight is announcing the moderators of that debate, david muir and linsey davis. david? >> david: we'll all be very busy in the months ahead. mary bruce, thank you so much. again, september 10th here on abc. in the meantime, a lot of other news to get to tonight. the major story overseas at this hour. the prime minister of slovakia fighting for his life after what officials there say was an assassination attempt. the troubling images coming in here tonight. the moment robert fico and his bodyguards walking to greet supporters there, when a man reached out, firing five times. the gunman was then wrestled to the ground right there. the prime minister flown by helicopter to a hospital. surgeons trying to save his life. tonight, he is in life-threatening condition.

that is what they're calling it. slovakia, of course, a nato ally. this evening, president biden is among those leaders condemning the violence, and praying for the prime minister's recovery. here's abc's tom soufi burridge. >> reporter: this is the moment slovakia's prime minister is shot five times at point blank range, in what officials say was an assassination attempt. and tonight, doctors say, after hours of surgery, prime minister robert fico remains in a life-threatening condition. watch as fico, flanked by bodyguards, approaches a crowd to greet supporters. a handgun just visible over that metal barrier. then gunshots ring out. look left, you can just see the prime minister collapsing. the gunman then wrestled to the ground. fico rushed into his car, knees buckling, held up by his security detail, then helicoptered to a nearby hospital with extraordinarily serious abdominal wounds. robert fico is a three-time prime minister, a controversial and key figure in slovakian

politics for more than 30 years. his views growing increasingly far right and pro-russian. he was re-elected last year campaigning on ending aid to ukraine. tonight, slovakian officials saying there was, quote, a clear political motivation behind the attempt on his life. there's no doubt about it. officials tonight saying the suspect taken into custody at the scene planned the assassination shortly after the presidential elections. slovakia's outgoing president from an opposing party calling the shooting an attack on democracy. and david, tonight, that remarkable image, the slovakian prime minister shot at point blank range. tonight, he remains in the hospital, doctors saying the next few hours will be decisive. slovakia is a member of the european union and a nato ally. world leaders in shock over this apparent assassination attempt. president biden, david, saying he was alarmed at the attack. david? >> david: deeply unsettling images coming in tonight. tom, thank you. meantime, back here in the u.s., yet another bridge

accident. this time, a massive barge hitting a bridge near galveston, texas. these are the images coming in tonight. causing a partial collapse there and an oil spill right in the bay. crew members were pulled from the water, they were rescued. abc's mireya villarreal from texas tonight. >> reporter: tonight, evacuations under way on pelican island, texas, after this barge broke loose in the galveston channel, crumbling a portion of the causeway and shutting down the only road to the island. >> there was a piece of the bridge of pelican island, fell off and fell onto a barge. >> reporter: the impact this morning collapsing the railway tracks from sheer force, concrete crumbling onto the barge, causing a leak onboard. a trail of black vacuum oil strewn across the bay in its wake. two crew members rescued from the water. >> there was a tugboat undertow with two barges. it's reported to us that one of the barges broke free, and that's what caused it to drift out of where it should have been. >> reporter: bridge inspectors

seen assessing the damage and the coast guard shutting down a portion of the gulf intracoastal waterway. >> it'll be significant to maritime commercial traffic up and down the texas coast. >> reporter: late today, emergency officials allowing cars to leave from the island and slowly cross the causeway. >> at 20 miles an hour, widely spaced, so everybody's clearing unless it's real big. i guess you can't get off. >> reporter: david, local officials are reporting the leak has now been fixed, and while we don't know exactly how much oil was spilled into the bay, we do know this barge could hold up to 30,000 gallons. so, needless to say, the cleanup here will take a lot of time and effort. david? >> david: mireya villarreal tonight from texas. mireya, thank you. in the meantime, we turn to the harrowing dash cam video revealed in court, showing a semitruck crashing on that louisville bridge. the truck hit by another vehicle, the driver losing control. and you'll remember those images, her truck dangling about 100 feet above the ohio river. then that daring rescue. well, tonight, the other driver

blamed for the crash now facing charges. here's abc's alex perez. >> reporter: tonight, heart-stopping video played in a kentucky courtroom capturing the crash that led this semitruck to careen into and precariously dangle over the clark memorial bridge in louisville. watch closely as that pickup driver swerves out of his lane to avoid a stalled car, slamming into the semi, which then crashes over the bridge. 26-year-old truck driver sydney thomas hanging onto the wheel as the semi's hood breaks away 100 feet above the water. >> we're bringing you some breaking news right now. this is a picture of a truck hanging over the side of the clark memorial bridge. >> reporter: louisville firefighters took nearly an hour to hoist that driver to safety and were hailed as heroes for the daring technical rescue. these videos presented as evidence in court today. the driver of that pickup, 33-year-old trevor branham, facing a number of charges, including driving with a suspended license. he has not yet entered a plea.

and david, thankfully, the driver of that semi was not injured. an attorney for the driver of the pickup says he feels terrible, and thanked those who rescued her. david? >> david: alex perez reporting in on this again tonight. alex, thank you. meantime, there is new trouble for boeing tonight. the justice department saying the company has violated an agreement it made in order to avoid prosecution after two deadly crashes. after those crashes of 737-max jets in 2018 and 2019 killed 346 people, boeing made changes to the plane and agreed to enforce certain safety, compliance, and ethics programs. but after that door plug fell off that max-9 in january, the doj said the company had failed to comply. well, tonight, boeing disagreeing with the findings. the doj now weighing what action they might take. overseas tonight, and to the fighting intensifying in northern gaza, in the same areas israeli forces said they had cleared. and it comes as the biden administration moves forward with $1 billion in new weapons for israel.

abc's matt gutman from israel tonight. >> reporter: tonight, fighting in areas israel had previously cleared and left in northern gaza intensifying, with shells slamming in, bystanders scattering for cover. fires smoldering, survivors digging out the wounded. hamas releasing this video claiming to show militants blowing up a tank in southern gaza. the biden administration moving forward with a $1 billion arms deal with israel, after suspending a shipment of 3,500 bombs last week over concerns about israel's plans for a major invasion of rafah. prime minister netanyahu doubling down again today. >> we do have a disagreement on rafah, but we have to do what we have to do. >> reporter: these new before and after images showing the max exodus from rafah. hundreds of thousands of palestinians fleeing north to khan yunis. it comes as an unprecedented public rift erupted in israel tonight. benjamin netanyahu's own defense minister blasting the prime minister's indecision on post-war gaza, warning netanyahu

that israeli military rule in gaza would cost them the war. israeli military officials say the lack of a decision has enabled hamas to slip back into areas where they'd lost control. david, u.s. officials say that giant floating pier, which the biden administration announced months ago, is nearly completed. it involved nearly a thousand u.s. military personnel. they will remain offshore. and we're told it's been moved into place off the coast of gaza right now, could be operational in the next couple of days. and u.s. officials hope it will be able to funnel a tremendous amount of aid directly into gaza, alleviating some of the desperation there, david. >> david: matt gutman from tel aviv again tonight. matt, thank you. meantime, there are also major developments in the war in ukraine. tonight, russia increasing its attacks near kharkiv, the second-largest city. ukrainian troops, in fact, forced to pull back. and ukraine now saying tens of thousands of russian troops are amassing along ukraine's border. abc's james longman inside ukraine again tonight. >> reporter: tonight, the

russian onslaught in the northeast forcing ukrainian troops to retreat and civilians to flee. you can hear the gun battles raging as this police official in the border town of vovchansk describes the situation as "extremely difficult." ukraine is fighting back but russian forces pressing ahead, repeatedly shelling the country's second-largest city, kharkiv, just a few dozen miles away. developments in the northeast and along other parts of the 600-mile front so concerning to president zelenskyy that he's postponed all upcoming foreign trips to monitor the fighting. it comes as secretary blinken announced another $2 billion in aid during his visit, most of it coming from the $60 billion already approved by congress last month. >> we're rushing ammunition. armored vehicles. missiles. air defenses. rushing them to get to the front lines. >> reporter: and david, president zelenskyy may have had to cancel his upcoming foreign

trip because of the seriousness of the situation in kharkiv, but vladimir putin has tonight arrived in china, shoring up support for the war which does seem increasingly to be going his way. david? >> david: the images coming in from china. putin now arriving. james longman again tonight. thank you, james. back here now, opening arguments in the federal corruption trial of new jersey senator bob menendez. prosecutors saying menendez, quote, put his power up for sale. doing favors, they say, for the governments of egypt and qatar, in exchange for lavish gifts including cash, gold bars, and a fancy car. well, today, his lawyers seem to place some of the blame on the senator's wife, nadine. she's charged, as well, but is being tried separately. we also have news tonight on the economy here at home. a record close for the dow, after a new report showing inflation now easing a bit. consumer prices in april were 3.4% higher compared to a year ago. the pace of inflation slowing from last month. housing and gasoline prices were higher, but most other so-called core prices, the smallest increase now in three years. groceries are down.

investors cheered the news today. all three major indices reaching new highs. the dow closing at 39,908, up nearly 350 points on the news. when we come back here tonight, an american mother now under arrest in turks and caicos. what was allegedly found in her luggage. we're also tracking severe storms across the country, moving into the east. damaging winds, possible tornadoes. we'll time it out. and also, the new fast food offer. how much, and what you'll get, in a moment. because there are places you'd like to be. farxiga can cause serious side effects, including ketoacidosis that may be fatal, dehydration, urinary tract, or genital yeast infections, and low blood sugar. a rare, life-threatening bacterial infection in the skin of the perineum could occur. stop taking farxiga and call your doctor right away if you have symptoms of this infection, an allergic reaction, or ketoacidosis. ♪ far-xi-ga ♪ (vo) if you have graves' disease, your eye symptoms could mean something more. an allergic reaction, or ketoacidosis. that gritty feeling can't be brushed away.

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severe thunderstorm watches now in parts of the plains and the carolinas. concerns about damaging winds, hail, possible tornadoes. also, severe storms tomorrow from texas to alabama, up to three inches of rain and flash flooding possible. our weather team also telling us about record heat across the south for the rest of the week. triple digits in texas, temperatures well into the 90s in florida. tonight, for the fifth time in six months, an american tourist is under arrest again, ammunition after allegedly found in luggage in turks and caicos. officials say she and her daughter were taken into custody following an airport security check. two rounds of ammo were found in the mother's bag, according to authorities. her daughter was released. the mother is expected to make her first court appearance tomorrow. authorities say a conviction comes with a mandatory minimum 12-year prison sentence. when we come back here tonight, this new fast food deal from mcdonald's to combat rising customer complaints about prices. so, what they're offering now, and for how much? and tonight, best in show. you'll meet him right here, the top dog, but why the dog's handler is making a lot of news

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to the index, and for the first time in five years, overdose deaths in america are on the decline. the numbers are still staggering. the cdc reporting more to the index, and for the first time in five years, overdose deaths in america are on the decline. the numbers are still staggering. the cdc reporting more than 107,000 people died of having overdoses last year, down from 111,000 people the year before. that's about a 3% drop. still, an overwhelming majority of deaths linked to fentanyl and other synthetic opioids. after a growing number of complaints about high prices, tonight, mcdonald's now responding with a new value meal. beginning june 25th, the fast food giant will offer a $5 value meal, either a mcchicken or mcdouble along with four-piece chicken nuggets, fries, and a drink. the deal will run for a month, they say. they're trying to win back customers. when we come back here tonight, best in show. the top dog at westminster, and her handler, who had seemed many were celebrating just as much. and you'll understand why, in a moment here. i've struggled with generalized myasthenia gravis.

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finally tonight here, best in show, and her handler, both america strong. tonight, we have a winner. >> the best in show winner is the miniature poodle. >> david: sage, the miniature poodle, winner of the 148th annual westminster kennel club dog show. >> sage, the miniature poodle, coming up big when it mattered most. >> david: 3-year-old sage from houston, texas. >> listen to that crowd. >> david: beating out more than 2,500 dogs, including six finalists. mercedes, the german shepherd. louis, the afghan hound. frankie, the colored bull terrier. comet. and monty, the giant schnauzer

who was a finalist last year. but in the end, it was sage. >> oh, goose bumps! >> david: and the other big winner, sage's handler, kaz osaka. >> look at him! >> so excited for him. >> david: hugs from the other handlers. waving to the crowd. he's a favorite among his peers. >> i'm so happy! >> david: kaz, originally from japan, has competed in an incredible 45 westminster dog shows. here he is back in 2002, when he won that show, with, listen to this, sage's great-grandmother, named spice. well, tonight, kaz is officially retiring. >> this is my 45th westminster, today's the day, my last show. >> david: tonight, kaz telling us, "it was my dream to come to this country and win the westminster dog show." this evening, kaz and sage, top dogs. >> on top of the dog world, in front of us all. >> david: well, we congratulate sage and her handler kaz, after decades of competition. i'll see you tomorrow.

and the homeless. getting it right could build a better bay area. good evening. i'm ama daetz and i'm dan ashley. >> thanks for joining us. trash from homeless camps is polluting waterways in the south bay. and now a new proposal from santa clara county's water district is stirring up controversy. >> abc seven news south bay reporter dustin dorsey looks at how it may impact hundreds of people. >> for many, being unhoused is not a choice. like ruben salas, who lives in this encampment along the guadalupe river in san jose. unmanaged and unclean conditions are not ideal, but it's the only option he has. do you like living here? would you

prefer living somewhere else? >> well, you know, i got no choice i make, i make, i make, make the best of what i got. you know i try not to complain. >> i'm trying to cry about it. you know, it might be bad, but. >> you sure? yeah, it might be. but it's all i got. you know, we're about to do. >> and soon living here. may not even be a possibility. since july, valley water has spent nearly $3 million cleaning up 1300 tons of trash along 295 miles of rivers and creeks in santa clara county, and to stop people from living along the waterways valley water is proposing an ordinance that would subject violators to $500 fines or up to 30 days of jail time. >> it's valley water's role as an as an environmental stewardship agency to ensure that the waterways are clean and that the flood protection measures that we enact work as they're designed to. the city of san jose and mayor matt mehan have been trying to find their own solutions to clean up creeks and rivers as well, but he doesn't want the 700 people whoi