America. And tonight, four dozen advertisers have pulled their ads from the oreilly factor. Good evening. Its great to have you with us on a wednesday night. We begin tonight with President Trump in there front of the world on syria, on Bashar Al Assad. On the apparent chemical attack that killed dozens in syria. Calling it quote, a affront to humanity. Saying his attitude toward syria has changed very much. More than 80 men, women and children dying. Those who did survive gasps for air. What the world was waiting for next, word from President Trump. Abcs chief White House CorrespondentJonathan Karl leading us off. Reporter welcoming the king of jordan to the white house, the president firmly condemned the chemical weapons attack in syria, placing the blaming squarely on the syrian government. It is a terrible affront to humanity, i can tell you, terrible. Reporter and later at a joint press conference in the rose garden, he suggested there should be retaliation. These heinous actions by the assad regime cannot be tolerated. Reporter in the past, again and again, donald trump said the u. S. Should not get involved. Tweeting syria is not our problem when president obama proposed protecting civilians. And after assads massive chemical weapons attack in 2013, he tweeted do not attack syria, fix u. S. A. Adding, if you do many bad things will happen from that fight the u. S. Gets nothing but now, the president says these horrific images have changed his mind about the assad regime. Innocent civilians suffering from this weeks attack, more than 80 dead. Here a father clutches his twin 9monthold babies, both killed i do change. And i am flexible. And im proud of that flexibility. And i will tell you, that attack on children yesterday, had a big impact on me. Big impact. And its very, very possible, and i will tell you, its already happened, that my attitude towards syria and assad has changed very much. Reporter trump blames president obama for the humanitarian crisis but acknowledges its now his challenge to solve. I now have responsibility and i will have that responsibility and carry it very proudly, i will tell you that. It is now my responsibility. I could just quickly ask you if the Chemical Attacks crosses a red line for you . It crossed a lot of lines for me. When you kill innocent children, innocent babies babies, little babies with a chemical gas that is so lethal. People were shocked to hear what gas it was, that crosses many, many lines, beyond a red line. Many, many lines. Reporter but he gave no indication of what he may do. Well, one of the things i think youve noticed about me is militarily, i dont like to say where im going and what im doing. Im not saying im doing anything one way or the other. But im certainly not going to be telling you. Reporter today, King Abdullah made it clear, the world is looking to President Trump. I believe under your leadership we will be able to unravel this very complicated situation. Reporter and the president , while again blaming his predecessor, is promising to take action. The world is a mess. I inherited a mess. Were going to fix it. Were going to fix it. Jon karl with us live at the white house. The president made it clear he wont say what hes going to do. Any kind of time line for possible action here sf. White house Officials Say this is very high on the agenda. In fact, the president himself chaired a meeting of his National Security council today here at the white house on the chemical weapons attack. No time line yet for a response. We just heard President Trump say that syria crossed a red line, but several lines. Nikki haley holding up pictures today if the u. N. Doesnt act the u. S. May have to. How many children have to die before russia cares . The United States sees yesterdays attack as a disgrace at the highest level. Assurance that humanity Means Nothing to the syrian government. When the United Nations fails to act consistently, there are times where we are compelled to take our own action. I want to bring in Martha Raddatz with us tonight. You heard the president saying his attitude toward syria has changed. We heard Ambassador Haley say, at times were compelled to take our own action. For americans at home wondering whats going happen, whats next. Whats the goal here . Do they want to prevent further attacks . Do they want to punish or get rid of Bashar Al Assad . We dont know. Most of those chemical weapons, the stock piles are gone so the chemical weapons used here were hidden. This is much more difficult. As we heard, they met with the nation Mall Security Team today all of this playing out amid a shakeup on the president s National Security council. Steve bannon has now been removed from the National Security council. Whats behind the move . Heres abcs cecilia vega. Reporter at the white house today, a staff shakeup. President trump, reversing his controversial decision to put his chief strategist, steve bannon, on the National Security council. Bannons presence on the council drew harsh criticism, a lightning rod, his rightwing views on nationalism and islam no secret. Its pretty dark here in europe right now, but theres something actually much darker and that is islam. Reporter when trump added bannon to the committee, he also excluded key military and intelligence officials and was accused of favoring politics over National Security experience. Todays restructuring largely due to the growing influence of National Security adviser general hr mcmaster, who took on the job after Michael Flynn was fired after just 24 days. The military and Intelligence Leaders initially excluded, now restored to their permanent seats on the council. Vice president mike pence saying today, this is just a Natural Evolution to ensure the National Security council is organized in a way that best serves the president in resolving and making those difficult decisions. White house Officials Say mcmaster and bannon, white house Officials Say, share the same philosophy and vision and there was no longer a need for bannon on the council. They say bannon has not been demoted. As this news was breaking, the president in the oval office with the New York Times, talking about what he called one of the big stories of our time. It involves president obamas National Security adviser susan rice and her acknowledgement that she asked to know the identities of americans picked up by surveillance, a process known as unmasking. Sources telling abc news that in some cases they were the names of Trump Campaign and transition officials, caught up in surveillance as the Intelligence Community investigated russias election meddling. Rice denied leaking any names. I leaked nothing to nobody and never have and never would. And rice says she simply needed to know those names in order to understand the significance of the intelligence reports she was reading. We cant be passive consumers of this information and not and do our jobs effectively to protect the american people. Reporter but today asked by the New York Times if rice committed a crime, President Trump said quote do i think . Yes, i think. So far, there is no evidence of a crime and democrats say this is all a distraction from the investigation into whether team trump colluded with the russians. My impression is, i wouldnt be surprised after all of this is said and done, that some people end up in jail. Cecilia vega with us live from the white house. President trump has now accused president obama of wiretapping him. As you just reported there, he just said that susan rice may have committed a crime. What shes said tonight. She said im not going to dignify it with a comment. They have questions for rice and theyd like her to testify before their panels. We turn now to another fire storm this one involving fox news host bill oreilloreilly. Tonight, President Trump is defending him. Heres abcs linsey davis. Caution, youre about to enter the nospin zone. Reporter in an interview with the the New York Times said i think hes a good person. Nearly 50 companies have pulled their ads from the show. Oreilly paid five women almost 13 million dollars. In seattlements over claims. The president now says personally i think he shouldnt have settled. Because you should have taken it all the way. I dont think bill did anything wrong. Its not the first time hes defended a fox titan. Last summer when former ceo roger ailes faced multiple allegations candidate trump defended his friend. Its very sad. Because hes a very good person. Reporter but just a month before the election it was trump under fire for that infamous access Hollywood Tape where he talked about groping women. Im not going to play too much of it because it is crude guy talk. Reporter President Trump then gave oreilly the first interview in the wake of that explosive tape. Well, first of all, locker room talk, and most people have heard it before. Reporter candidate trump apologized for the remarks but more than a dozen women then came forward accusing him of inappropriate sexual advances and groping. Allegations the president denies. Oreilly hasnt mentioned the allegations against him on the show. Many a statement over the weekend, he said his fame makes him a target. He has to put to rest any controversies to spare his children. President trumps defense of oreilly comes days after the president declared april National Sexual awareness month. Americans bracing for possible twisters and large hail and flood watches right up into the northeast. A confirmed tornado on the ground for about 20 minutes. The entire system pushing its way east. Abcs Steve Osunsami is in atlanta where theyre bracing for dangerous weather tonight. Reporter families in the deep south tonight are facing an emergency, from swift water rescues at flooded streets in atlanta, to this tornado in weston, georgia. Farms were torn apart, mobile homes destroyed. The top of the house started peeling off, so we knew it was a very serious storm. Reporter at the masters Golf Tournament in augusta, it wasnt safe to stay out on the greens. We are asking you to evacuate the grounds. Reporter in neighborhoods across the region, tornado sirens are blaring, the flash floods and rising, its going to be long night for nearly 60 million americans. North of atlanta, lightning struck several homes and set them on fire. The homeowner said it sounded like a stick of dynamite going off. Reporter this family wont be able stay here tonight. Ive seen a lot of lightning strikes but ive never seen them hit this close. Reporter this same storm hurled an ef2 tornado at the kind people of goodman, missouri. Winds as high as 120 miles and hour hit a fire station and tore apart the elementary school. Luckily, no one was seriously hurt. Stunning images of that school. Steve live with us. This isnt over yet. A brandnew tornado watch just issued for the metro area there. Reporter yes, david. Brandnew tornado watch for the entire Atlanta Metro area until 9 00 p. M. Tonight. This is my neighborhood. The street is blocked. Power crews are out here trying to clear the road that leads to my house and restore power to this entire neighborhood. Were certainly youre okay. Were thinking of your neighbors, steve. Rob with us tracking this now. This is moving eastward as we speak. Such a large, dynamic system, a huge area under the gun. Alabama, georgia, carolinas, particularly dangerous situation in that spot there. Thats a rare issuance. Midatlantic, tomorrow, where the storms will be. Snow on the backside of this. Bigtime rain across the northeast. Tracking it through tomorrow for us, rob. Theres still much more ahead on within wouldnt tonight the f16 crash. How the pilot barely missed a neighborhood. He did survive. The man hunt under way, two inmates authorities call dangerous. And of course the ad outrage, tonight, the new development coming in here, why pepsi is now pulling the controversial ad and is now apologizing. Back in a moment. Like an unjection™. Xeljanz xr. A once daily pill for adults with moderate to severe ra for whom methotrexate did not work well. Xeljanz xr can reduce pain, swelling and 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. Dont start xeljanz xr if you have an infection. 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Pepsi ultimately pulled this mountain dew ad featuring a goat in a Police Lineup with black men. Today, paparazzi caught up with Kendall Jenner in paris. Do you have any regrets. Reporter pepsi does have regrets. Saying it was trying to project a global message of unity, peace and understanding, clearly we missed the mark. David wright, abc news, new york. Tonight, the jailbreak the man hunt. Also the f16 crash. The special delivery, the whole world waiting on one giraffe in america. But the other giraffe that beat us to the punch. And markets continue to rise and fall. Predictable is one thing you need in retirement to help protect what youve earned and ensure it lasts. Introducing brighthouse financial. A new company established by metlife to specialize in annuities life insurance. Talk to your advisor about a brighter financial future. Dont let dust and allergens and lifes beautiful moments. Flonase allergy relief delivers more complete relief. 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While the world waits for a baby giraffe here in the u. S. , so many of them watching online. It turned out another was born at the chester zoo at the uk after fourhour labor. As many still watch april the giraffe at bing hamton zoo. When we come back one students incredible gift. Three strangers and what we witnessed. You have to see this. [ applause ] [ sneezes ] allergy symptoms distracting you . [ sneezes ] doctors recommend taking nondrowsy claritin every day of your allergy season for continuous relief. With claritin, you get powerful, nondrowsy relief, 24hours a day. Day after day. Wow and with fewer symptoms to distract you, you can focus on the extraordinary things you do every single day. [ cheering ] live claritin clear. Every day. For one week only, save up to 32 on claritin products. Check this sundays newspaper. Hi, im mindy kearns. Its great nice to meet you to