Inside Edition for Thursday Sep 10, 2026

0:00Struck by love and lightning. They were struck by lightning. The married couple walking hand in hand struck down by lightning. Look what happened to them. We shouldn't be here right now. And the Cat in the Hat Terror. Let's play hide and seek. The scary phenomenon sweeping the USA. The beloved children's character turned into a figure of menace. Then run for your life. The guy behind him has a knife. Never been confronted by anything like that. Plus, who shot Wendy? Was a coyote shot by a vigilante, fed up with coyotes running around his neighborhood like these? And here comes the son. Judge Judy's son gets his own court show. This is Adam's law. And the nation pays tribute as we remember 9-11, walking 110 stories and running 2,977

1:06miles to remember the 2,977 lives lost that terrible day. Now inside addition with Eva Pilgrim. Hello and thanks for joining us. We begin with dramatic police body cam video. The husband and wife on the ground with serious injuries after being hit by lightning. They were on a romantic stroll. Hand in hand. They're routine. Even after 17 years of marriage. Now they're talking with Alison Hall about fighting for their lives together. It's a starishing video of a husband and wife who were both hit by lightning. Did you hear me, sir? Lightning struck. They had an umbrella and it struck them and they both collapsed. Blair and Aaron Waleanga were holding hands on this trail outside Orlando. That's when the nightmare happened. As seen in this eye opening police body cam video. Their umbrella was struck by lightning and they were both on their face. Good Samaritans quickly came to the assistance of the stricken couple. They called 911 and said the wife was not breathing.

2:08She's blue. We are doing CPR. We're doing compressions. The one gentleman is bleeding from his face. Is he breathing? He is breathing and he is moving. He keeps asking for help. He's not regained to Paul's. He's breathing for getting caught back. He's doing so much better. He's doing so good. And here's the couple today. I was unconscious without a pole. Sir breathing for about six to ten minutes. That's what they told me. I do remember laying on the ground and I couldn't talk. I couldn't feel anything. I could hear a lot of things that I didn't really want to hear about them taking care of Claire. Notice, Claren Aaron are even holding hands in this photo taken at the hospital. Look at the injuries on Aaron's face. The last thing I remember was like my shoes were squishy and making a noise. And then the next thing I remember I'm waking up in a hospital and they told me we were struck by lightning. Fifteen people have died in lightning strikes in the US this year alone. For you to be hit by lightning together, was that do you think because you were holding on to each other? Was that from the umbrella? We don't know, but we know that God protected us.

3:11I mean, we are a miracle. We shouldn't be here right now. They were struck by lightning. They are so lucky. Because Florida has more deadly lightning strikes than any other state. It's a beloved children's character. Dr. Sousa's cat in the hat. But now the human sized cat with the striped top hat is at the center of a disturbing trend aimed at terrorizing kids as they go back to school. Justin Finch tells us what's going on. It's creepy video of the classic children's character, the cat in the hat. Let's play hide and seek. Spreading terror across the USA. Schools are being inundated with threatening social media messages in the name of the beloved Dr. Sousa's character. Visually what do these threats look like on the screen? Definitely photos taken of those schools, the cat in the hat character is superimposed. And then there's lists of names. And there's threats like something bad is going to happen on a specific day at a specific time.

4:12These two miners were charged with making terrorist threats in the town of Nicholasville, Kentucky. Pennsylvania, Virginia, Florida, Arizona have seen threats from people dressed like the cat in the hat. The social media trend started as a goof but has sent spread into something sinister and menacing. This gear took place at a convenience store in Florida. So who is this wearing the cat in the hat costume? Her name is Natalie Reynolds. She actually paid $25,000 for the cat in the hat suit used in the 2003 movie starring Mike Myers. Why I'm the cat in the hat? There's no doubt about that. What do you make of this trend right now? It's worldwide. Honestly, like if you told me a year ago this was going to be happening, I would be like your line. Because you know it's a Dr. Sousa's character. You know, it's supposed to be a kid's character. So it's crazy to now see it turning into something that almost scares us. The workforce Mint has this warning.

5:13If you generate a threat via TikTok, Facebook, Snapchat, we have the resources to find you. And coyotes have been terrorizing a neighborhood in Los Angeles, but there's sympathy for one named Wendy that was shot in the face with a pellet gun. Now the entire community is banding together to find whoever is responsible. Coyotes, it's scary to encounter them on the streets. Many people consider them a menace, especially in Los Angeles, where they seem to be everywhere. This abandoned condo building in West Hollywood has been completely overtaken by a coyotes who howl non-stop through the night. So it may surprise you to see this, a $10,000 wanted poster for the vigilante who shot Wendy. The coyote had become a fixture in this LA neighborhood. It all her face. Wendy somehow survived being shot, but her swollen face showed evidence of the attack. What happened next was something many people would never expect.

6:14Some residents took pity on Wendy, even leaving the coyote cat food and hot dogs. Retired LAPD cop Mark Rulon even began tracking Wendy's movements by installing surveillance cameras. Here's the moment he found her. She happened to trot right on by and so I happened to have some hot dogs in my truck. Rulon took the wild animal into his truck and rushed her to an animal rescue. X-rays uncovered two pellets lodged in Wendy's head. Somebody had shot her twice with a pellet gun. And what was your reaction to that? I was horrified. Vets determined the coyotes eye and jawbone were destroyed and euthanized the animal. On social media, reaction is mixed. Good riddance goes this post, but the retired cop believes people need to be accommodating to coyotes. Now, he's using his law enforcement background to organize the manhunt for the person who shot Wendy offering a reward. We've done stories about coyotes in a neighborhood not far from here where people are up in arms because they look at coyotes as predators.

7:14And yet you've put up a reward to find a person who harmed this coyote. Coyotes are more afraid of us than we should be of them. There was buzz today. The swiffs has been Travis Kelsey. It was going to walk the runway at the Tommy Hilfiger fall fashion show. Well, he didn't show up, but look who did. That's Travis and Taylor's fluffy white dog making her fashion debut strutting with Hilfiger at New York Fashion Week. Who needs to win the Westminster dog show when you can be a four-legged supermodel? Now terrifying video of a guy with a knife going on the attack investigators. Don't think this is random. The suspect reportedly snapped and went into a jealous rage after seeing his ex-girlfriend with another guy. Anne Maccaugulliano has the details. It's terrifying. A knife-wielding man jumps on top of a pickup truck. He's chasing a guy who is running for dear life.

8:16So what was the fight about according to reports the knife-wielding man flew into a jealous rage after spotting his ex-girlfriend in the park with the other man. The woman tries to intervene and a witness is behind the wheel of his Tesla as his vehicle records everything. I saw the dude jump out and he got up on the hood and had a knife in his hand and I just heard he's got a knife. I started putting my car into reverse. It's like a scene out of an action movie. The victim runs toward Robin Newberg's car with the 37-year-old suspect in hot pursuit. He grabs the door because there's not enough time to get inside the car. Dude, hang on, hang on, hang on. What's going on? Once they back up far enough, the victim is able to climb into the back seat. Get in, get in. As soon as he got in the car, he was complaining about his eye being gouged. Apparently the guy grabbed him by the eye and like threw him to the ground and his thumb was in his eye. Here's the victim who hung on for dear life. He's shoeless and holding his eye.

9:17Cubs found the knife in the woods nearby where the suspect had thrown it. Tomorrow marks 25 years since the terror attacks of 9-11 that changed America forever. Those lost may be gone but they certainly are not forgotten. Here's how the nation is paying tribute on this emotional milestone. A firefighter carries the stars and stripes as he climbs the steps of the football stadium in Baltimore. He's joined by fellow first responders and everyday citizens. They're walking 110 stories to match the height of the World Trade Center towers and honor the first responders who perished. It's also happening in Texas, Oklahoma and Atlanta. In Boston, first responders are riding bikes from Finway Park to Ground Zero. The 343 mile ride takes five days all to honor the fallen. This woman is running with old glory.

10:18In September 11, 2001, I was inside the Pentagon day care along with my baby sister. She's Air Force pilot Hannah Bord and she's running 2,977 miles to remember the 2,977 lives lost that terrible day. And this is the relay for America which started in Boston where the terrorist hijacked two airplanes at Logan International Airport and goes all the way to New York where the planes crashed into the twin towers. For the next 36 hours, these two flags will move in tandem as an unbroken relay as the make the way to Ground Zero in New York City. A retired flight attendant is honoring his slaying comrades by pushing airline service carts through the streets of New York. 9-11 has inspired an entire generation to become first responders. Steven Patrick Driscoll. Steven Patrick Driscoll. There's your uncle right there. Yes, that's my mom's brother.

11:19Erica Tierney was only a year old when she lost her police officer uncle on 9-11. He was part of the South Tower of Winick-Hillap. I've heard that he saved many lives and so he kept going back in along with the other first responders. I'm very proud to follow in his footsteps. Across television, there are shows and movies paying tribute. The history channel documentary 102 minutes inside the towers recreates the moments of panic inside the Twin Towers as they were struck. The news CBS and Paramount Plus documentary daughters of 9-11 follows these two women as they seek justice for their dads who were killed in the terror attacks. They want the accused 9-11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed brought to trial. 25 years later, did both of you think that in terms of justice, things would look a lot different by now? Yeah, and I hope that people will watch this documentary and dive in a bit deeper and really see the difficulty that we've been dealing with. I don't think that he deserves to breathe the same air we do.

12:23And in one more moving 9-11 tribute, a drone show over New York Harbor recreates the outline of the Twin Towers with 2,977 lights, one for each person killed in the attacks. Never forget, we'll be right back. Next September 11th, 2001. From the inside edition video vault, 9-11, the first hours. And here comes the sun. Judge Judy Sun gets his own court show. This is Adam's Law. Inside edition with Eva Pilgrim will be right back. On 9-11, inside edition was on the scene as the towers fell. Here's how we covered the deadliest terror attack in history as it happened. For a generation of Americans, 9-11 is a moment in history.

13:24Or for those who were there, it's an unforgettable trauma. It's the worst thing I've ever seen in my whole life. It's terrible. Inside edition's Matt Mahar was one of the first reporters on the scene. Police and firefighters are afraid the top half of the World Trade Center could actually collapse, they're pushing everyone out into the financial district at this point. Mayor, any idea how this happened? Not right now. Not right now. Reporter April Woodard was right there when Mayor Rudy Giuliani reached ground zero. As the mayor and other stun New Yorkers watched in disbelief. Let's go! Let's go! Our big exposure is just occurred. Everyone is running for the entire financial district now. The smoke is feeling the entire area. Let's go! Some were trapped in the narrow streets of Lower Manhattan. With clouds of dust and debris coming from both directions, day became night. Inside edition cameraman Steve Shapiro and dozens of others managed to find shelter in an office building. But they were soon forced to evacuate for their own safety and emerged to find a nightmare scene. The air was stick with toxic dust that caked their clothes and faces and people struggled

14:29to breathe. Firefighters have just told us that the North Tower is leaning and that everyone must leave the area. Shoot as you run! For the second time people fled, but the deadly clouds moved faster than anyone could run. Just breathe. These women were pregnant when their husbands were killed on 9-11. In the months that followed, they gave birth to children who would never know their fathers. And here are three of those babies, now 24. That's Alexis Smogala as an infant. He died helping people and that's always what I wanted to do. So I became a speech therapist and I help people communicate and I feel like that's how he's a part of my life now. I feel more sympathetic for my mom than I do myself just because she had a full life with him. I wear his medallion on my necklace every day. I work right across from the 9-11 memorial. I think that's where I connect with him the most. A national tragedy, 25 years on. I remember, say they tell stories of those lost, so the human impact of the tragedy is

15:32never forgotten. So to come, Tini's Judge Judy passes the gavill to her son. It's time for Judge Judy's son to call for order in the court. Judge Judy is passing the gavill to none other than her son, Adam Levy, as he debuts his own court ship. I am totally confident that Adam's law will be the next number one show in daytime. Totally confident. After 30 years of no nonsense, Ruins, Judge Judy says she's ready to hang up her robe. I love doing the work, but the pochkin with your hair and your face and there's only after a while there's so much you can do with a face. So what advice did she give her son? Don't screw up. Think back, you gotta keep all your lies straight now. Adam, a former district attorney in upstate New York, says viewers can expect the same sharp wit his mom is James Ford. You sound like a fool.

16:33That's your opinion, no. My opinion is the only one that counts. The people who deserve to get the beat down are going to get that verbal beat down on Adam's law. People who think they're going to pull the wool over my eyes. That's not going to work for you. Hello, inside addition is Jalil White. I'm on the set of flip side. There's a spunky breed of people down here and they don't hold back. Every local listings for flip side and the premiere of Adam's law both debut on Monday. Still ahead, a bouquet toss with a twist. Feel the love. This bride is ditching the traditional bouquet toss.

17:35Instead, she's handing it over to her bridesmaid. Why? Her boyfriend is standing by ready to pop the question. She's troubled the reason to celebrate. Congrats and see you tomorrow. The critically acclaimed series, Colin from accounts, returns for a brand new season. You proposed to me drunk out of nowhere at my best friend's wedding. I was being spontaneous. You didn't have a ring. It was just awesome. All episodes now streaming. Still, Will they? Why don't they? Who is? But what is it? My friends. We are together. We're friends. We're friends. We're together. We're the dog. Colin from accounts, new season now streaming. Only on Paramount Plus.