Tonight, several developing stories as we come on the air. Judge Brett Kavanaugh is now on the brink of confirmation. And the senator from maine, Susan Collins, one of the senators who saved his nomination. What she said today, with millions watching. The verdict is in tonight. The Deadly Police shooting. The officer, and the black teenager shot 16 times. What the jury decided late today. The break in the case. A wife, teacher, and mother of two who went missing in the middle of the night. The discovery, and what her husband is now saying. Hes one of the most famous athletes in the world. Soccer star cristiano ronaldo, on countless covers. Tonight, police have reopened a case of alleged sexual assault. And this evening, you will see the video from las vegas that investigators will likely see, too. Were watching storms on the move right now. Drivers caught in flash floods. Where the system is headed. And a threat in the tropics. There is a 70 chance itll soon be named, and could it be headed our way . The deadly accident at a Pumpkin Patch. An Inflatable Bounce Pad, and a 59mileperhour wind gust. A 2yearold boy did not survive. And now the new warning tonight for families. And, Made In America is back tonight. Turning the Family Recipe into millions. Why didnt we think of this. And, do you have an idea . Good evening, its great to have you with us on a very busy friday night. We have a lot to get to. We begin on the eve of what looks to be a vote tomorrow that will send judge Brett Kavanaugh to the supreme court. Today, high drama playing out on the senate floor. Undecided senators revealing their intentions, including republican Susan Collins of maine, now voting yes to confirm. And what she said in front of the senate, in front of america. Shame on you and the protesters there all day, packing the hallways. And this moment here, shouting down the democrat who will vote yet, joe manchin. Revealing his intention late today. The math is in tonight. It appears President Trumps nominee will be confirmed. In front of a divided country. Mary bruce with the story. Reporter with the fate of judge kavanaugh hanging in the balance, the day began with key senators still undecided. With just one hour to go before the crucial vote, democrat joe manchin racing back to that secure room to review the fbi investigation into kavanaughs alleged sexual misconduct. For manchin and the three undecided republicans, Susan Collins, jeff flake, and Lisa Murkowski, the pressure is monumental. Many women live in fear. How do you think kavanaugh will make us feel . Reporter when it comes time
to vote, collins is a yes. So is joe manchin. Senator jeff flake, also a yes. But Lisa Murkowski votes no, the only republican to break with her party. Later swarmed by reporters, she explains her decision. I did not come to a decision on this until walking into the floor this morning. I believe that Brett Kavanaugh is a good man. It just may be that in my view, hes not the right man for the court at this time. Reporter leaving the capitol, flake, who demanded the fbi do its investigation, makes clear he stands with kavanaugh. Do you plan to vote yes tomorrow . Unless Something Big changed, i dont see what would, but anyway, im glad we had a better process. Reporter what about Susan Collins . Her office all day flooded with protesters. She takes to the senate floor. Vote no
vote no reporter for 45 minutes, she meticulously outlines kavanaughs judicial record, insisting he is more of a centrist than his critics contend. Collins is prochoice, and she says in oneonone meetings kavanaugh convinced her he would respect the precedent of roe v. Wade. When i asked him, would it be sufficient to overturn a long established precedent if five current justices believed that it was wrongly decided, he emphatically said no. Reporter and when she gets to the allegations of sexual misconduct, collins declares the fbi investigation did not corroborate the accusations of Christine Blasey ford. The Presumption Of Innocence and fairness do bear on my thinking and i cannot abandon them. In evaluating any given claim of misconduct, we will be ill
served in the long run if we abandon the Presumption Of Innocence and fairness, tempting though it may be. Reporter then, her final decision. I will vote to confirm judge kavanaugh. Thank you, mr. President. Reporter moments later, manchin says he too is a yes. Ensuring judge kavanaugh will be confirmed. Do you believe dr. Ford . I believe dr. Ford. Reporter but manchin is soon drowned out. Shame on you shame on you reporter and chased out. Another dizzying day on capitol hill. A dizzying couple of weeks for this country. Mary, the math very clear, the vote tomorrow. Brett kavanaugh, likely to be confirmed. I know you will be there tomorrow. But you spoke with lawyers for dr. Christine blasey ford. Im sure you asked them for their reaction, as this was unfolding. And if dr. Ford has any regrets . Reporter her lawyers tell me this is a grave injustice, but she has no regrets. That she did what she believed was the right thing and her civic duty. As for what comes next, ford plans to return to teaching, and hopefully spend time with her family. David . Again, the vote looking likely for tomorrow evening. Mary, thank you. To tonights other breaking headline. Authorities on alert following the verdict in the racially charged murder trial of a Police Officer in chicago. Jason van dyke found guilty of shooting Laquan Mcdonald 16 times. Van dyke had testified in his own defense, claiming he feared for his life. Tonight, what the jurors thought of that defense. Heres alex perez. Reporter with a city on edge, the jury taking less than ten hours to reach that verdict. We the jury find the defendant, Jason Van Dyke, guilty. Reporter Jason Van Dyke showing little emotion as jurors found him guilty of Second Degree murder and 16 counts of aggravated battery. One for each shot in the 2014 killing of 17yearold Laquan Mcdonald. The judge revoking the bond for the former Police Officer turned convicted felon, now booked in jail. And outside, jubilation as the decision was read. Mcdonalds family saying justice was served. Laquan mcdonald represents all oaf of the victims that suffered what he suffered. Reporter the white officer shooting the black teenager 16 times as he walked down a chicago street carrying a threeinch knife. The shooting, captured on police dash cam, sparked monthslong protests when it was released. Some violent. Today, more than 12,000 chicago officers placed on alert, bracing for demonstrations. On the witness stand, van dyke, who was responding to a call of someone breaking into cars,
testified he believed mcdonald was lunging at him and refused commands to drop the knife. I was yelling at him, drop the knife. I yelled, i dont know how many times. Reporter but in the video, mcdonald, who was high on pcp, appears to be walking away from van dyke when he is shot. Prosecutors telling the jury the shooting was unjustified. Theres no justification for shooting Laquan Mcdonald that night. Not one shot, not the first shot, not the 16th shot. Reporter but Defense Attorneys arguing the video was essentially meaningless because it didnt capture the incident from van dykes point of view. But the jury disagreeing, and tonight, some explaining why. He should have realized what the situation was and instead of escalating the situation, should have looked at other options. Lets bring in alex perez live. Jason van dykes legal team is calling the verdict a sad day for law enforcement, but they also said Something Else, they
call this a relief . Reporter yeah, thats right. The defense calling this a relief because had he been convicted of first degree murder, he could have faced a life sentence. But still, hes looking at possibly decades behind bars. His attorneys plan to appeal the decision. Alex, thank you. And now to new developments in the search for a missing teacher and mother in maine. Her husband saying she vanished from their home in the middle of the night five days ago. Search teams scouring the area around their house, making a disturbing discovery this morning. And what weve learned about what happened. The appointment with a medical professional in the hours before she disappeared. Heres whit johnson. Reporter tonight, Police Tape Blocking off this heavily wooded area in north yarmouth, maine. Acting on a tip, authorities discovered a body found about a half mile from the home of kristin westra, a mother and teacher who mysteriously vanished five days ago. The office of the medical examiner is on scene. No positive identification has been made. Reporter police now calling the case a death investigation. Loved ones say she would never expect westra to abandon her kids or students. She was last seen sunday evening, going to bed around 8 00 p. M. Her husband says he woke up around 3 30 a. M. , noticed she wasnt there, but assumed she had trouble sleeping. For days, search teams sifted through tall brush, used k9s and drones. The outpouring of support from the community has been huge. My wife is loved. My wife is loved dearly. Reporter Family Members say westra had anxiety issues, and saw a medical professional just hours before disappearing. Her husband jay, writing on facebook, my heart was crushed today. Whit, thank you. Next tonight, one of the most famous athletes in the world facing allegations of sexual assault. More than 1 billion in endorsements at stake now. The 2009 case now reopened against cristiano ronaldo. Now, the video likely being looked at by authorities. Heres matt gutman. Reporter this video of the worlds most recognizable athlete dancing with a model in las vegas, taken hours before she claims he raped her. Cristiano ronaldo, whos racked up nearly every accolade in soccer and A Billion Dollars in endorsement deals, including nike, is accused by Kathyrn Mayorga of a rape in 2009. Their night started at this club and he later invited her to his hotel suite and where he allegedly attacked her. Hours later, she reported an alleged attack to the Las Vegas Police and had a rape kit done, but she refused to name him so no charges were filed. They settled in 2010 for 375,000, but she now claims she was pressured into it. Las vegas police reopening the case now that ronaldo has been named in a civil suit. Ronaldo vehemently denying the rape allegation. What they said today is fake, fake news. Reporter the fallout has already begun for ronaldo. He has been left off of the Portuguese National team at least through november, and nike has said they are deeply disturbed by the allegation, and will monitor this investigation closely. Matt, thank you. Now to the Flash Flood Alerts across the midwest, heavy rain from texas to the great lakes. And a separate system causing Flash Flooding in pittsburgh over the last 24 hours. And were tracking a new tropical threat heading toward the gulf. Rob marciano with us. Hey, rob. Reporter lets start with the flood threat, and some severe storms across the plains. The flood watches for chicago and milwaukee. A lot of rain along that front, which doesnt move much. St. Louis, northern illinois, kansas city. The rivers are swollen, so its not going to take much. Tropical action, this disturbance likely to become a named storm in the next five days. It could come to the northern Gulf Of Mexico next week. Rob, thank you. We have new safety concerns tonight about a popular childrens attraction. Police in nebraska said a toddler died after playing on an Inflatable Bounce Pad. We have reported on this danger before. This time, a gust of wind, almost 60 miles per hour, launching it 30 feet into the air. Heres gio benitez. Reporter tonight, tragedy in lincoln, nebraska. A 59ilerurgust tore this Inflatable Bounce Pad at a Pumpkin Patch from its moorings and sent it 30 feet into the air. Children inside of a bouncy house that tipped over due to the wind. Reporter 2yearold caleb acuna was killed. His 5yearold sister, injured with a broken arm. Police now launching an investigation. We extend our condolences to calebs family, everyone involved in this incident. Its tragic. Reporter the owner of the Pumpkin Patch saying they have been advised by attorneys not to answer questions, but released this statement. Our thoughts, prayers, and deepest condolences are with the family at this time. The same type of pumpkinthemed bounce pad was involved in a new york accident last october, injuring dozens of kids. It turns out regulations for inflatables are left up to the states. At 18 miles per hour, you need to shut the ride down, completely deflate it. Reporter even with these stakes. Even with the stakes in the ground. Reporter david, the familys pastor says they are struggling to understand how and why this happened. A Wind Advisory had been issued that day, but the sheriff called the gust unusual. David . Gio, thank you. And President Trump not only welcoming the news on his
supreme Court Nominee today, but a very welcome note on the economy as well. The Labor Department revealing unemployment dropping to 3. 7 , the lowest since 1969. The u. S. Adding 134,000 new jobs last month. Marking eight straight years of job growth in this country. Theres still much more ahead on World News Tonight this friday. Youve seen the home genealogy tests. The arrest in the murder of this woman 25 years ago, and how authorities used the dna from one of those websites to find the suspect. The recall for nearly 1 million cars on american highways. And the Close Encounter for the first lady. The Elephant Scare right here. She wasnt the only one stepping back. And Something Else to report tonight about the first lady, right here, as the news continues. Yes. Thanks to the dedicated technicians at the american red cross. Who worked with vmware. To develop technologies to help redirect the flow of blood to the areas and people needing it most. Helping them recover. And refilling everyone with lifeaffirming hope. Magic cant make Digital Transformation happen. But we can. Thats the power of vmware, part of dell technologies. Is the fact that its very, very tough on bacteria, yet its very gentle on the denture itself. Polident consists of 4 powerful ingredients that Work Together to deep clean your denture in hard to reach places. I want free access to research. Yep, td ameritrades got that. Free access to every platform. Yeah, that too. I dont want any trade minimums. Yeah, i totally agree, they dont have any of those. I want to know what im paying upfront. Yes, absolutely. Do you just say yes to everything . Hm. Well i say no to kale. Mm. Yeah, they say if you blanch it its better, but that seems like a lot of work. No hidden fees. No platform fees. No trade minimums. And yes, its all at one low price. Td ameritrade. And yes, its all at one low price. Our mission is to provide complete, balanced nutrition. For strength and energy whoohoo greattasting ensure. With nine grams of protein and twentysix vitamins and minerals. Ensure. Now up to 30 grams of protein for strength and energy next tonight, the break in a cold case murder of a teacher more than a quarter century old, using dna from an ancestry
website. Heres ryan smith. Reporter it was a crime that shocked lancaster, pennsylvania. A beloved teacher, christy mirack, brutally raped and murdered in her home in 1992. This quiet neighborhood is in disbelief. Reporter tonight, the cutting edge science that helped finally break open a very cold case. Last spring, the family saw the big news from california. An alleged Serial Killer tracked down through a genealogy database. The golden state killer. And my first reaction was, why cant they do Something Like that with christy . Reporter enter cece moore, a dna genealogist who started working on cases like christys with parabon nanolabs. They upload Crime Scene Dna Profiles to a free Genealogy Website called gedmatch, and build family trees to find relatives and zero in on potential suspects. A break in christys case came in no time. I think it took a couple of days. Reporter the suspect . Raymond rowe, also known as dj freez, a popular fixture in the city for years, charged with criminal homicide. They made an arrest. Reporter what was that like . It was unbelievable. Reporter his arrest, one of 11 now credited to this genetic detective. If youre going to commit a Violent Crime like a rape or murder, youre going to leave dna behind. And if you leave dna behind, we can find you. This is incredible. Much more tonight on 20 20. The dna detective, at 10 00 p. M. Eastern right here. When we come back, the massive auto recall. Mor