NBC Nightly News with Tom Llamas - Friday, February 14, 2025

Episode Date: February 15, 2025

Trump orders mass firings at federal agencies; Zelenskyy to NBC News: “Low chance” Ukraine survives without U.S. military aid; upheaval at DOJ after prosecutors resign over Eric Adams corruption case; and more on tonight’s broadcast.

Tonight, the Justice Department revolt over a corruption case involving New York's mayor. Seven top prosecutors resign. Their pointed words as the Trump Justice Department orders them to drop the case. One lawyer saying they were set to bring new charges. The dramatic promise Trump's borders are made on live TV about what would happen to Mayor Eric Adams if he didn't keep his word. Sweeping government layoffs hit thousands of federal workers, including staff overseeing the nuclear stockpile.

The president warning more cuts are coming. Torrential rains triggering mudslides in Southern California, sweeping a car into the ocean with a driver still inside. Plus, the major winter storm threatening millions. New developments in that deadly mid-air collision, the Black Hawk helicopter was flying too high, but the pilots might not have known it. The breaking news about the high-profile lawsuit against music mogul Jay-Z. Ukraine on edge after a dramatic drone strike at the Chernobyl nuclear plant and world leaders stunned by mixed messages from the U.S.

over the war. As President Zelensky tells us in an exclusive interview, they have a low chance of surviving without U.S. support. This is NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt. Good evening and welcome. We start with the internal revolt rocking the Trump Justice Department as the DOJ has just moved to dismiss the federal corruption case against New York Mayor Eric Adams after a string of federal prosecutors refused to do so. Seven of them taking part in a mass resignation, leaving their jobs rather than follow orders to drop the case against Adams on the justification it distracted the mayor from devoting his full attention to the president's priorities on immigration and crime. In his resignation later, the lit lead prosecutor calling it dismissal with leverage and meant to induce Adams to support the administration's policy objectives. Meantime, the administration's

border czar making it clear what's expected of Adams, who tonight faces growing calls to resign. Laura Jarrett has the latest. Tonight, the Justice Department officially abandoning its corruption case against New York Mayor Eric Adams. The formal motion to dismiss all charges filed by a career prosecutor in Washington after a standoff with prosecutors in New York who refused to go along. The lead attorney overseeing Adams' case in Manhattan penning a blistering resignation letter obtained by NBC News laying into Trump-appointed DOJ brass for saying the case

was distracting Adams from devoting his full attention to the president's priorities on immigration and crime. Attorney Hagan Scott in writing, no system of ordered liberty can allow the government to use the carrot of dismissing charges or the stick of threatening to bring them again to induce an elected official to support its policy objectives. Adding, if no lawyer within earshot of the president is willing to give him that advice, then I expect you will eventually find someone who is enough of a fool or enough of a coward to file your motion. But it was never going to be me. As Adams now faces growing calls to step down, the pressure he faces when it comes to supporting Mr.

Trump's immigration objectives on full display as the mayor and Trump's border czar Tom Homan appeared together this morning on Fox. If he doesn't come through, I'll be back in New York City and we won't be sitting on the couch. I'll be in his office up his butt saying where the hell is the agreement we came to. Adams pushing back on the idea of any quid pro quo, saying tonight, I want to be crystal clear with New Yorkers. I never offered, nor did anyone offer on my behalf any trade of my authority as your mayor for an end to my case. Never. Still, the case touching off an upheaval within the department, with at least seven prosecutors quitting, including those in Manhattan with sterling conservative credentials. So, Laura, what could

happen next in this case? Well, even if the Justice Department doesn't want to move forward here, a federal judge still has to finalize this deal. And it shouldn't necessarily be a rubber stamp. He could ask questions. He could hold a hearing. He could want to see evidence. And it could be uncomfortable for the Justice Department to be pressed about why they did this. OK, Laura Jarrett, thanks much. It all comes as the effort to remove thousands of federal workers ramps up, including some that work with the nuclear stockpile. Kelly O'Donnell has late details tonight. Tonight, a wave of new terminations for thousands of federal workers

swept up in mass firings from the Oval Office. The president said more job cuts are coming. Beyond 75,000 workers, the administration says volunteered to quit with his offer of a promised payout. It's a big, tremendous saving for us. We want to downsize government, but make it better, run it better. Today, outside Health and Human Services, Valentine Hearts left four federal workers to protest Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency. The first convening of federal workers against Doge. Among those let go, first-year employees with probationary status, like 39-year-old Elizabeth Aniskevich, fired from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. I never would have imagined that this is what would have happened, and it would have happened so swiftly and so inhumanely.

At Veterans Affairs, more than 1,000 employees dismissed. U.S. Forest Service, 3,400. Energies, National Nuclear Security Administration, oversees the nuclear stockpile. No specific figure, but a DOE spokesman stated less than a half of a percent of the total NNSA workforce was dismissed. A big target for Doge, waste or abuse of tax dollars. The Government Accountability Office found in 2023 $236 billion in what's considered improper payments wrongly sent by federal agencies. Today, newly sworn in Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins. And as far as the layoffs go, I don't have the exact number, but yes, those will be forthcoming.

Today, a federal judge extended a temporary restraining order that keeps the Doge team from accessing sensitive data at Treasury. Lester. Kelly O'Donnell, thanks. Now to the powerful atmospheric river that slams Southern California overnight. Mudslides pushing a fireman's SUV into the ocean and a rare tornado over that part of the country damaging homes. Our Morgan Chesky is in the storm zone tonight. In Malibu, a mud-covered SUV tossed surfside after a terrifying moment mid-storm. Dashcam capturing a rain-fueled torrent exploding through concrete barriers onto the Pacific Coast Highway, where it swept this SUV off the road in seconds,

the debris barely missing Hector Caldera's own truck. As soon as we start backing up to the other side, another slide, so we got trapped from both slides. Our crew there, as the driver with LA Fire, climbed out shaken, but somehow safe. The close call blamed on an atmospheric river river drenching charred burn zones, flooding the Los Angeles metro area, even unleashing a rare tornado near Oxnard. The house shook, and the noise got louder and louder, and it sounded like something hit the top of the house. Mountains of mud lining streets beneath the Eaton Fire burn zone,

where residents say the slide swallowed nearly everything in its path. All of a sudden you could hear the roar and this flash flood of mud came down the street. It was horrendous. A storm so violent, the roof of this supermarket caved in. I was like, oh my God, like I was scared out of my mind. It was insane. Back in Malibu, as a crane hoisted that SUV back onto dry land, Captain Eric Scott stressing, even though the rain stopped, the landslide risk remains. How much longer before that landslide risk ends?

Usually 48 hours is our main concern after the rain stopped. But again, this is still rather tumultuous. There's a lot of burned, scarred footprints throughout Los Angeles, and we know there's more rain to come. And tonight here outside the famed Dukes Malibu, as crews try to clean up this muddy mess, officials say those evacuation orders issued yesterday should all be expiring by the end of tonight.

Lester. Morgan Chesky in California, thank you. And that western storm is on the move east with 70 million people from Nebraska all the way to Maine under dangerous winter weather alerts. The south also at risk of severe risk, in fact, with 19 million in the path of heavy rain and flash flooding. There is new information tonight from the black box of that military helicopter that crashed into an American Airlines regional jet. The NTSB says it shows the chopper was in fact flying too high, but that the pilots may not have known it. Tom Costello has more. Two weeks after the midair crash killed 67 people, NTSB investigators say the Army helicopter's

black box indicates its radial altimeter showed 278 feet at the time of the crash, 78 feet above the 200-foot limit for helicopters. But the chopper pilots may not have known because their barometric altimeter may have been feeding bad data. In other words, they may have thought they were at one altitude when in truth they were at a different altitude. It's possible, but we have a lot of work to do till we get to that. The NTSB also says the chopper crew may not have heard a critical message from air traffic control to pass behind the regional jet. Because one of the chopper pilots keyed his mic over the words pass behind the. The RJ pilots may have tried to avoid the crash with a dramatic pitch up one second before impact. Was there any indication that the crew of the CRJ realized at the last second they might be

hit? Yes, there was an indication and that is we see a pitch up of the aircraft so it was nine degrees up. Helicopters in and around Reagan National are required to fly down Chopper Route 4, hugging the east side of the Potomac under 200 feet near DCA. They had about one second between the time they realized where the helicopter was and tele-impact, so there was no chance for them to get out of the way. Tim Lilly is First Officer Sam Lilly's father. He also piloted regional jets and Blackhawks around D.C. Sam's departure, he left a giant hole in our family. You just don't know how long you have with somebody you really love, and we weren't ready for him to go yet. Meanwhile, nearly half of all flights into and out of Reagan tonight are delayed two to three hours

because of new FAA rules that prohibit planes and choppers from flying at the same time at DCA. And Marine One had a presidential assignment today that takes priority. Lester. All right, Tom Costello, thank you. Now to the high stakes talks in Germany. What President Trump says will kick off peace negotiations to end the war in Ukraine. But there has been confusion among world leaders about where the U.S. stands. And in a new interview with NBC News, Ukraine's president delivering a stark warning about what will happen if the U.S. stops military aid. Here's Andrea Mitchell. Overnight, a Russian drone striking the Chernobyl nuclear plant. U.N. inspectors say no sign of a radiation release.

But Russia's attacks, an ongoing reminder of the war's toll on Ukraine, as world leaders gathered in Munich about peace talks to end the conflict. Ukraine's President Zelensky meeting with Vice President Vance and Secretary of State Rubio. We want the war to come to a close. We want the killing to stop. But we want to achieve a durable, lasting peace. But after President Trump said this week Russian President Putin told him he wants peace, Zelensky said he told President Trump Putin is lying. I said to him that he's a liar.

Allied leaders stunned by mixed messages from the U.S. this week. And so are multiple members of Congress here talking to NBC News from both parties, pointing to the president suggesting a summit with Putin without Ukraine. Zelensky today saying, I will meet with Russians with only one Russian guy, with Putin. And critics point to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Wednesday, ruling out Ukraine ever getting into NATO, taking a key negotiating chip off the table before talks even start. The United States does not believe that NATO membership for Ukraine is a realistic outcome of a negotiated settlement.

Prompting a rare rebuke from the Republican Armed Services Chairman Roger Wicker, calling it a rookie mistake. Zelensky today saying the U.S. has always resisted NATO membership for Ukraine. United States, they never saw us in NATO. They just spoke about it. But they really didn't want us in NATO. It's true. Zelensky also complaining about being pressured in Kiev

by Treasury Secretary Scott Besant to sign a contract giving the U.S. future rights to Ukraine's rare earth minerals to compensate for U.S. military aid. I said that our lawyers will loan it and and and then with some uh advisors or some changes, we'll come back. Tonight, Zelensky with NBC's Christian Walker. Can Ukraine survive without U.S. military support? Probably it will be very, very difficult. And of course, in all the difficult situations, you have a chance, but we will have low chance, low chance to survive without support of the United States. Meanwhile, Zelensky will give a major speech to the Munich conference here tomorrow.

Lester. Andrea Mitchell, thanks. We'll be right back in 60 seconds. Late breaking news about the lawsuit against Jay-Z. Just in, the case has been voluntarily dismissed. Now to breaking news of the high-profile sexual assault lawsuit against music mogul Jay-Z and Sean Diddy Combs. Chloe Malas joins us now with the latest. Chloe, what have we learned?

Lester, just moments ago, a lawsuit against Sean Carter, better known as Jay-Z, accusing him of raping a 13-year-old girl in 2000 after the MTV Video Music Awards has been dismissed by her attorney, Tony Busby. Jay-Z saying in a statement to NBC News, The trauma that my wife, my children, loved ones, and I have endured can never be dismissed. NBC News was first to report the civil suit that was filed in December and exclusively sat down with the accuser. We subsequently reported inconsistencies in her account, which she stood by at the time. Sean Diddy Combs was also accused of sexual assault in the suit and tonight saying we will continue to fight these baseless claims. Lester. All right,

Chloe, thanks. We're back in a moment with the human cost of cutting foreign aid. We take you to Cambodia tonight with the life and death consequences. President Trump's move to freeze foreign aid spending is already creating chaos in countries around the world. Janet's Maggie Frayer traveled to Cambodia to see the impact on work and America's reputation firsthand. The delicate and dangerous task of clearing unexploded bombs in Cambodia, deminers using simple tools, and every day finding something. So you just blow it up where it is? You just blow it up right where it is.

We have to move back here so we can get out of the way. Two, three! out of the way. Many of the munitions here are American, dropped in rampant U.S. bombing during the Vietnam War. For decades, the U.S. helped to clean up the mess until President Trump froze all foreign aid for 90 days. The demining group Bill Morse oversees here relies on private donations. What happens to people here? They die. They don't have a job. It's going to affect everybody. Nobody knows quite what to do right now. The U.S. spends about $72 billion a year on foreign aid, much of it delivered through USAID, which was abruptly dismantled, upending every kind of program on the planet, from HIV AIDS treatment to fighting hunger,

though a U.S. judge ruled the White House can't cancel funding already in place. The real-time impact of the stop work order here, some charities facing collapse. Novels and horrible and unbelievable and total shock. For demining efforts in Cambodia alone, teams are having to scale back so fewer bombs are getting cleared. To give you a sense of scale here, this whole minefield is roughly nine and a half acres and it took over two months to clear this first half. An estimated four to six million leftover munitions still strewn across the country.

Fishermen drag them up in their nets. They're lodged in forests and farmers' fields. The landmine was here. It's how some 65,000 Cambodians like Pej Put have been maimed or worse. Officials here politely say that legacy is why the U.S. should restore funding. We can see a moral responsibility as we are toward our people, our country, that they help us to address the contamination. People are going to ask, why have you gone away? Then somebody else will walk in and take our place.

Already, China is filling funding gaps, pledging $4.4 million to keep demining going here. And decades of work still ahead. Janice McEfrayer, NBC News, Siem Reap, Cambodia. And that is nightly news. Join us on Peacock tonight for 50 years of SNL, the homecoming concert streaming starting at 8 Eastern. Thank you for watching, everyone. I'm Lester Holt. Please take care of yourself and each other. Good night.