images just in tonight. that takedown of the suspect on campus. a longtime professor elsewhere who was turned down for a job. and authorities say he had a list. whit johnson standing by in las vegas. in upstate new york tonight, on this first night of hanukkah, shots fired outside a synagogue in albany. tonight, state police and the national guard now on alert. senior investigative reporter aaron katersky standing by. tonight, the israel-hamas war, and just in, what israel is now considering. what they might do inside those tunnels in gaza. >> reporter: they believe hamas operatives and leaders are hiding. james longman in israel. in the u.s., this powerful cross-country storm moving from the west. ten states right now under winter alerts for heavy rain, snow, and damaging winds. then, this all moves quickly right into the northeast. when this hits. rob marciano tracking it all. in texas tonight, a young woman with her husband. she is 20 weeks pregnant. her doctors say her health is in danger because of complications. going before a judge in texas after being told in that state she cannot have an abortion. tonight, the judge's ruling and how the state is now responding. the race for president tonight. former president trump in new york for his civil fraud trial, again skipping the debate. the four candidates who want to beat him for the nomination trailing trump by 40 to 50 points. and only one candidate willing to take on trump. jon karl on the moment. tonight, the on-duty u.s. marshal arrested following a delta flight from new york. what he's accused of. the scare involving actor chevy chase. his fall off the stage right into the audience. derek hough from "dancing with the stars" revealing the medical scare for his wife. the emergency surgery. and what happened 82 years ago today. tonight here, the heroes who have gone back. "america strong." >> announcer: from abc news world headquarters in new york, this is "world news tonight with david muir". >> david: good evening. it is greet to have you with us here on a thursday night. we do begin tonight with this dramatic video just in after the deadly campus shooting at the university of nevada-las vegas. the takedown of the gunman who was 67 and a longtime professor who was rejected for a job at the university's business school. officers with guns drawn rushing into the building, looking for the shooter as students were hiding in classrooms hearing the gunshots. this is the newly released surveillance video tonight. the moment officers took him down, finding him outside the building. the gunman chasing an officer around a patrol call. the officer then returning fire. tonight, two of the dead now identified. patricia navarro, an assistant professor in the accounting department. and professor chajan chang, known as jerry. tonight, authorities say they were not intentionally targeted, but they did add the suspect did have a list. abc's whit johnson leading us off on the scene in las vegas tonight. >> reporter: tonight, authorities releasing this chilling video showing the moment the unlv gunman was taken down by police. you see the suspect in the long coat, armed with a handgun, chasing one officer around a patrol car before that officer returned fire, killing the suspect. >> these two detectives are heroes. they risked their lives in order to save countless others, and as the sheriff pointed out, what could have been a blood bath. >> reporter: authorities revealing photos of the gunman's arsenal, including nine magazines. 67-year-old anthony polito was a former professor who had applied for a position at unlv but was not hired. police say they have 22 letters that the suspect sent to university personnel across the country. one letter contained an unknown white powder. and he had a list of people he was seeking at unlv and his former university. >> all of the unlv faculty members have been notified, and all but one of the carolina faculty members have been notified. and that individual has not been contacted, because they're on an overseas flight. >> reporter: paul whittington was in one of polito's classes at east carolina where he taught for 15 years. >> he kept a running log of every single negative thing that a student said about him. one of the things that always stood out to me that made me uncomfortable was, he would try to figure out who wrote the negative feedback. >> reporter: in his writings, polito dove deep into conspiracy theories and mysteries, claiming he had decoded messages from the infamous zodiac killer. authorities say it was polito who yesterday just before noon launched his deadly rampage at unlv's business school, opening fire with a handgun at victims on multiple floors. the first campus police officer on-scene within one minute and 18 seconds. >> police! hands up, hands up! >> reporter: after hearing the first shots, senior mike henderson barricading himself in a classroom with others, then calling his father. >> i said, "dad, i have to go. if this is the last time we talk, i love you." and then i hung up the phone. >> reporter: officers finally reaching mike's classroom, leading them to safety outside. >> i saw someone who was face-down. it looked like he had been shot in the back. >> reporter: and tonight we're learning about some of the victims. 39-year-old patricia navarro velez, an assistant professor in the accounting department. and 64-year-old professor chajan chang, known as jerry. police say none of the victims were among the suspect's listed targets. and, david, on the suspect's criminal past, police say he had a decades-old conviction for computer trespassing, but the gun he owned was purchased legally. they also say he was struggling financially. there was an eviction notice actually taped to his front door, and that he'd applied to a number of jobs at nevada universities, but was turned down at all of them. david. >> david: whit johnson on the scene in las vegas for us. whit, thank you. we're also following a developing story in upstate new york tonight, on this first night of hanukkah. the alarming scene when shots were fired outside a synagogue in albany. preschoolers were still inside. tonight, state police and the national guard have been put on alert. here's our senior investigative correspondent, aaron katersky. >> reporter: police said shots were fired outside temple israel in albany around 2:00 in the afternoon, just hours before the start of hanukkah. the synagogue's preschool was in session and put on lockdown. >> the suspect is a 28-year-old local resident who was walking around outside the synagogue, acting very suspicious, according to witnesses. he fired off a round from a shotgun while making threatening statements. >> reporter: nobody was hurt. the shooter taken into custody. >> we were told by responding officers that he made a comment, "free palestine." >> reporter: since the october 7th start of the israel-hamas war, law enforcement agencies have warned of a spike in anti-semitic and islamaphobic crimes in the u.s. >> this is not a time for panic, but it is a time for vigilance. and people should make no mistake that we are in a more dangerous time than we've been in a while. >> reporter: just yesterday, the department of homeland security issued these safety guidelines for synagogues and mosques, warning the threat of violence from individuals radicalized in the united states will remain high, marked by lone offenders or small group attacks that occur with little warning. police believe the albany suspect is emotionally disturbed, has a lengthy criminal history, and was acting alone. tonight, david, the authorities are deciding whether the shooting should be charged as a hate crime. david. >> david: aaron katersky in new york for us. aaron, thank you. meantime, tonight does mark two months now since the hamas terror attack on israel. and this evening, a u.s. official now telling abc news that israel is considering flooding hamas' tunnels, where they believe militants and operatives are still hiding. abc's james longman in israel tonight. >> reporter: tonight, israel now considering a plan to flush out the tunnels under gaza, where hamas leaders are believed to be hiding. a u.s. official telling abc news they want to degrade hamas capabilities, possibly pumping in seawater to flood that underground network. and it comes as new video circulating online from gaza shows rows of men in their underwear sitting with hands behind their backs surrounded by israeli soldiers. and this photo circulating online shows detainees kneeling, and it's gone viral and causing outrageous. israel says they captured more than 150 hamas terror suspects in the north of the strip. but we pressed the idf on these claims that they're linked to hamas. >> israel does not arrest, apprehend, or target anyone in the gaza strip that is not a hamas terrorist or poses an imminent threat to israel. >> reporter: but the committee to protect journalists says a palestinian correspondent was among those detained, and they're demanding his release. and we spoke to this man, who lives in washington, d.c. he says he sees his brother, mahmoud, in that video, and he says he's not a terrorist. >> it's a violation. this is my little brother. i know him. he is not involved in anything. >> reporter: more than 17,000 killed so far in gaza. neighborhood after neighborhood destroyed, and in israel tonight, two months to the day since hamas launched the deadliest terror attack in israel's history, the nation remembering the 1,200 people murdered. more than 130 hostages including americans still in captivity. this woman's cousin is among them. she says the israel government isn't prioritizing the release of the remaining hostages. >> we need to understand what's going on. we need negotiation. we need someone. we need something to happen. >> reporter: and tonight as israelis join jews around the world marking the first day of hanukkah, the wounds are still raw. >> is there something about going into hanukkah which makes this period especially difficult or especially moving? >> i don't feel like the joy and the happiness and the light of hanukkah, not when they are going through holocaust. i think this is the way to describe what they're going through, holocaust. so i don't feel like celebrating hanukkah right now. >> david: now, two months after this attack on israel. let's bring in james longman in tel aviv for us again tonight. james, i want to go back to what you reported there on the hamas tunnels. a u.s. official now confirming that israel is considering a plan to flood the tunnels, perhaps, where hamas militants are still believed to be hiding? >> reporter: yeah, david, and a lot of risks associated with that plan. flooding those tunnels could knock out water filter systems that provide clean drinking water to gaza and could, of course, endanger those remaining hostages. david. >> david: james longman in tel aviv again tonight. thanks, james. back here in the u.s. tonight, another major storm slamming the northwest. and now a cross-country system that will then race right across the country and into the northeast as well. senior meteorologist rob marciano back with us tonight to time all of this out. hey, rob. >> reporter: hi, david. this comes on the heels of that flooding storm. this one's got some punch, so, it will trek across the country. the radar has filled in over the afternoon. from san jose to seattle, we saw over a foot of snow just east of us in tahoe. another one to two feet possibly with this thing coming in. it's got a cold core to it. the colorado rockies will get it. and into the plains it goes on saturday. then it's got a severe weather component. starts to ramp things up, southeast texas, louisiana. could see tornadoes there. then the heavy rain pushes up in through ohio and eventually into the northeast on sunday, before moving out on monday. it will be a big mess for everybody east. david. >> david: rob marciano back with us tonight. thank you, rob. we turn now to texas tonight, and to the issue of abortion. tonight, the case of a young woman with her husband today. she is 20 weeks pregnant. her doctors say her own health is in danger because of complications now. going before the judge after being told in texas she still cannot have an abortion. tonight here, the judge's ruling and how the state is now responding. here's rachel scott. >> reporter: tonight, a first of its kind case playing out in texas. in an extraordinary livestreamed court hearing, 31-year-old kate cox and her husband, justin, begging a judge to let her have an emergency abortion, currently banned under texas law. >> today, we are seeking a temporary retraining order to allow ms. cox to get the abortion she needs now. >> reporter: cox, a mother of two, is 20 weeks pregnant. doctors have told her her fetus has a severe abnormality and virtually no chance of survival. what's more, they said continuing the pregnancy could put her health at risk and prevent her from getting pregnant again. texas now bans abortion outright, with one narrow exception -- to prevent major bodily harm or save the life of the mother. kate told me she was certain that would apply to her. >> i could see in this case, surely i would qualify for that exemption. so my doctor told me that i did not have that option in the state of texas. i was shocked. my husband as well. >> reporter: so, today kate and her husband listened as her lawyer described how kate had been to the emergency room four times in just the last month. >> many of ms. cox's health risks during this pregnancy will put her life in danger if left untreated. >> reporter: she argued the law in texas outlining exceptions is just too vague, calling it cruel and dangerous. >> now a patient must be about to die before a doctor can rely on the exception. >> reporter: still today, the state insisting kate cox needs to provide more evidence to prove she qualifies. >> the plaintiffs have not shown they will suffer an immediate or irreparable injury. >> reporter: but the judge ruling on the spot that kate cox could get the abortion she is seeking. >> the idea that ms. cox wants desperately to be a parent and this law might actually cause her to lose that ability is shocking and would be a genuine miscarriage of justice. >> reporter: the judge adding, the longer ms. cox stays pregnant, the greater risks to her life. it's unclear if the state will try to fight this ruling, but tonight the texas attorney general ken paxton is threatening to go after any doctor who might try to perform kate cox's abortion, saying they could still face serious penalties including the loss of their license and up to life in prison. even her own husband could be at risk on charges of aiding and abetting an abortion. david. >> david: all right, rachel scott tonight. rachel, thank you. we turn now to the race for the white house. former president trump back in court in new york, skipping last night's debate. and the four candidates who were onstage trailing trump for the nomination by 40 to 50 points. despite being so far behind, only one of them appeared willing to take on trump. here's jonathan karl. >> reporter: today, the split screen republican presidential primary campaign on full display. in new york, front-runner donald trump was in court, choosing to attend the civil fraud trial against his company. >> well, i think it's going very well. >> reporter: and in iowa, florida governor ron desantis trying to find some momentum after the fourth republican debate. >> great to be back in iowa. >> reporter: but once again, trump skipped the debate, leaving the candidates who did show up fighting each other instead of the front-runner. >> the fifth guy, who doesn't have the guts to show up and stand here, he's the one who has, as you just put it, is way ahead in the polls. and yet, i've got these three guys who are all seemingly to compete with, you know, voldemort. he who shall not be named. they don't want to talk about it. >> reporter: former new jersey governor chris christie seemed to be the only candidate willing to take trump on at all. and the only one to address trump's comments earlier this week when he was asked if he would abuse power. >> he says, you're not going to be a dictator, are you? i said, no, no, other than day one. >> do i think he was kidding when he said he was a dictator? all you have to do is look at the history. and that's why failing to speak out against him, making excuses for him, pretending that somehow he's a victim empowers him. >> reporter: desantis, instead, spent much of the debate taking on former south carolina governor nikki haley, who has been rising in the polls, though both of them trail trump by double digits. >> nikki will cave to those big donors when it counts. and that is not acceptable. >> he's mad because those wall street donors used to support him and now they support me. >> reporter: ron desantis was asked again today about trump's recent remark that he would be a dictator on his first day in office. and once again, he had nothing to say about that or, david, about any of trump's other recent controversial comments. david. >> david: jon karl live in washington. jon, thank you. when we come back here, the on-duty u.s. marshal arrested following a delta flight from new york. what he's accused of tonight. also, the scare for actor chevy chase, falling off the stage into the audience. and "dancing with the stars" pro derek hough tonight, and what he's just revealed about his wife and the emergency surgery. 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