NBC Nightly News with Tom Llamas - Friday, February 23, 2024

Episode Date: February 24, 2024

Alabama's attorney general says he will not prosecute IVF families or providers; Suspect arrested in killing of woman on University of Georgia campus; Trump far ahead in polls on eve of South Carolina primary; and more on tonight’s broadcast.

Tonight, the growing fallout from Alabama's embryo decision as Donald Trump breaks his silence on the ruling. Alabama's Attorney General today vowing not to prosecute families or providers for IVF treatments after the Supreme Court there ruled frozen embryos are children. And now the former president voicing his support for IVF. But the couples we spoke with say they fear the potential risk. Also tonight, the 22-year-old student found dead after jogging on the University of Georgia campus. The suspect now under arrest. Just in, the unidentified high-altitude balloon flying right over the western U.S. fighter jets, intercepting it. This just over a year after that Chinese spy balloon flew across the country.

Our team at the Pentagon. Just hours until the polls open in South Carolina's GOP primary. Nikki Haley in the final stretch in her home state. But Donald Trump far ahead. President Biden announcing more than 500 new sanctions on Russia in the wake of Alexei Navalny's death and our Richard Angle in Ukraine on the eve of the war's two-year anniversary. NBC News investigates the top dealers of guns traced to crimes in the U.S., the data the public rarely ever sees. And he orbited Earth nearly 6,000 times, the astronaut who made history in space on his record-breaking ride. This is NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt.

Good evening and welcome. The outrage over Alabama's Supreme Court ruling on the status of frozen embryos is rapidly taking on a bipartisan flavor tonight as many key Republicans, including Donald Trump, rushed to publicly voice their support for in vitro fertilization. The court's ruling that frozen embryos are children triggered some IVF providers in Alabama to pause the procedures, fearing exposure to wrongful death lawsuits if embryos are destroyed in the process. Tonight, Alabama's Republican Attorney General offering reassurance. His office saying in a statement he has no intention of using the

decision as a basis for prosecuting IVF families or providers. Tonight, IVF patients in Alabama still left in the lurch. Many now learning they cannot easily ship their frozen embryos out of state. Yamiche Alcindor is in Alabama with the latest. After a week of confusion and frustration, tonight, Alabama's attorney general is saying he has no intention to prosecute IVF families or providers. Just last week, the state Supreme Court ruled that frozen embryos are children and that people can be held liable for destroying them. That set many Republicans scrambling to explain their positions, including Donald Trump.

I strongly support the availability of IVF for couples who are trying to have a precious little beautiful baby. I support it. And the Senate GOP's campaign arm urging candidates to, quote, clearly and concisely reject efforts by the government to restrict IVF. The White House hitting back. This is the chaos that has come out of getting rid of Roe. The same day as last week's ruling, Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Tom Parker shared his view that God wants conservative Christians to reshape society based on their beliefs. God created government.

And the fact that we have let it go into the possession of others is heartbreaking. Can you point to my mind? In Montgomery, Rebecca Matthews has one frozen embryo left after enduring three rounds of IVF. This feels almost like they're pushing us into a corner and punishing us for something that we can't control. How concerned are you that if you decide not to use this one embryo, that you could be held criminally or civilly liable? Very. I'm very concerned. The thought that this could land me in jail is just something that I can't even imagine. Those same concerns are what led at least three clinics in Alabama to stop IVF treatments. Alabama Fertility is one of them. Dr. Mimi McClain has had to tell patients the

clinic is too concerned about legal liabilities to do IVF right now. The conversations that I've had to have this week have been some of the most heart-wrenching that I've ever had to have. I feel powerless. She hopes GOP leaders vocally backing IVF will turn things around. I think the national leaders serving their support behind our cause to provide IVF care in Alabama is incredibly powerful. Kelly Belmont is preparing for her second round of IVF. So far her clinic clinic is still operating, but she is terrified that could change. If IVF were to be stopped across the state, what would you be doing? Honestly, I think it would be over for us. We had to pull from our 401 just to pay for what we have already done.

The 38-year-old Belmonts feel like they are running out of time. It would literally be a dream crushed. for what we've already done. The 38-year-old Belmonts feel like they're running out of time. It would literally be a dream crushed. And you may now understand there is movement on legislation to protect IVF in Alabama. That's right. Both Democrats and Republicans in Alabama are pushing for legislation that would make an embryo outside of a person's body, not a child, under state law. They hope that will restore IVF access to people across the state. Lester?

All right, Yamiche, thank you. Now to Georgia, where authorities say a suspect is in custody this evening in the homicide of a former student on the University of Georgia campus. Blaine Alexander is there and has late details. After a terrifying 24 hours in the bustling college town of Athens, Georgia, tonight police have announced a suspect is in custody in what university officials say is the murder of 22-year-old Laken Riley. We are obtaining arrest warrants for Jose Antonio Ibarra, 26 years of age. He lives here in Athens, but is not a U.S. citizen.

He has been charged with the following, malice murder, felony murder, aggravated battery. Police say a friend of Riley's called 911 Thursday afternoon, saying Riley went for a morning run and never came back. Officers searched the area and within minutes found her body in an area around Lake Herrick near the school's intramural fields. He did not know her at all. I think this was a crime of opportunity. Here in Athens, the homicide has rocked two different campuses. Riley was a junior at Augusta University's College of Nursing, where she was on the dean's list. She had recently transferred from the University of Georgia. A student there until last spring, she remained

active with her sorority. Today, classes on both campuses are canceled. I mean, everybody thinks that they're safe, but in reality, like you never knows. UGA senior Milka Ramirez lives right by the fields where Riley was found. I mean, that's very kind of concerning and scary just because that did happen very close by. And police say this is the first homicide on UGA's campus in at least 20 years. Classes are set to resume on Monday. Lester. All right, Blaine Alexander, thank you for that. And developing this evening, American fighter aircraft intercepting another high altitude balloon over the western United States. Pentagon correspondent Courtney Cubie is following this. What do we know, Courtney? Yeah, that's right, Lester. NORAD scrambling fighter jets to

check out the unidentified balloon over Utah today. Now, tonight, NORAD says the balloon does not appear to be a national security threat, but U.S. officials still cannot say who it belongs to or where it came from. Flying at around 45,000 feet, officials say it is not a threat to aviation and is not maneuverable. But the incident illustrates the lasting unease after China flew a high-altitude spy balloon over the U.S. last year. The U.S. military shot down that balloon off the East Coast, then shot down three other unidentified balloons in the following days. Lester. All right, Courtney, thank you. In South Carolina, Saturday, Nikki Haley faces potentially unfriendly terrain in her home state as Donald Trump looks

to broaden his appeal on the way to locking up the nomination. Garrett Haik explains. We're going to win this. We're going to win it bigger than ever before. Donald Trump tonight looking to close out a fourth straight primary victory. We're going to have a gigantic victory here in South Carolina. We're going to show crooked Joe Biden and the radical left Democrats that we are coming like a freight train in November. The former president leading the Palmetto State's former governor Nikki Haley by 28 points in a recent poll. I need you to get out and vote. I need you to take five people with you. Haley ramping up her attacks on the GOP front runner in the race's closing hours. Donald Trump cannot win a general election.

Look at every single poll. But even as Haley vows to fight on through next month's Super Tuesday contests, the Trump campaign pivoting its focus to the general election and looking to make inroads with a key group of traditionally Democratic supporters, Black voters, 92 percent of whom supported Joe Biden in 2020. He has to make a genuine effort, genuine appeal to the Black vote, the Black community, and sell himself as a better alternative to Joe Biden. That effort hinges on activating voters like Yvonne Ramsey and her son Anthony. Neither voted in 2020. Both say they plan to support Trump Saturday. And in November, citing the economy as their top issue. I've seen the benefits of being under Trump.

And I see the benefits of being under Biden. And I like the benefits of Trump. The Biden campaign responding tonight to Mr. Trump's outreach to black voters. Calling him in part a poster boy for modern racism. Lester. Garrett Haig, thank you. Today, the U.S. unleashed its largest round of sanctions on Russia as the war enters its second winter and in the wake of Alexei Navalny's death. Gabe Gutierrez is at the White House. Gabe, how are these sanctions any different? Lester, the White House says these new sanctions will build on previous ones that have slashed Russia's oil revenues by 40 percent. The new sanctions target more than 500 people and companies that contribute to the Kremlin's war effort,

including Russia's largest shipping company. The U.S. is also indicting more Russian businessmen, but it's not clear how effective this will be. Vladimir Putin continues to get help from Iran, North Korea and China. The White House says these latest sanctions are just a start and acknowledges it will only go so far. So the president is urging Congress to finish passing more aid for Ukraine. Gabe Gutierrez of the White House. Thanks. Amid the struggle over more aid for Ukraine in Washington, Chief Foreign Correspondent Richard Engel traveled to the front lines as the war reaches a grim milestone. After nearly two years of war in Ukraine, the tide is shifting as Congress holds up billions in aid,

allowing Russian troops last week to make their biggest advance in nearly a year. Today, a group of five Democratic senators met with Ukraine's President Zelensky. We have heard from so many that if you don't get the aid, you will lose the war. But if you get the aid, you will win the war. Cross fingers that we're still together. President Putin is counting on divisions in the United States to give him victory in Ukraine. We travel to the far east of Ukraine, to the frontline town of Chazivyar, to see what effect the stalled American aid is having. Russian troops are closing in and are now less than a mile away. And this is the town hall destroyed by Russian strikes. And

on the wall, Ukrainian troops have left a message, the same message that we're hearing time and time again everywhere in Ukraine now. It says we are not asking too much. We just need artillery shells and aviation. The rest we do ourselves. I went down into a bunker to a secret artillery control position. The war in Ukraine is being fought from underground rooms like this. So they're about to fire another artillery round at Russian troops just on the outskirts of the town. And there, it just landed. No confirmed hit this time. And that's bad news. They're now rationing ammo.

What does the lack of weapons and ammunition mean for troops here in Ukraine? When we had enough ammunition, we could go on the offensive. Now we can only defend, the commander says. Back outside, the acting mayor, Serhii Chaus, is more blunt. We don't understand what is happening. Why suddenly no one understands us anymore? The war is not over. It's getting tougher, he says.

And a senior NATO official tells NBC News tonight that Russia is likely to carry out a series of attacks, including airstrikes against Ukraine, over the next 24 hours to mark the two-year anniversary. Lester. All right, Richard Engel, thank you. In 60 seconds, gun crime in America, a rare look at the top legal sellers of guns traced to crimes. Our investigation right after this. Back now with our NBC News investigation on guns in America. New data, the kind the public rarely

gets to see, showing which dealers are selling firearms that are most often linked to crimes. Here's Stephanie Gosk. In April last year, Connor Sturgeon opened fire on his colleagues at the Louisville Bank where they worked, killing five with an RF-15 rifle. Dana Mitchell was shot in the back. Within a second, he shot the person in the hallway. And that split second gave me time to duck. You were afraid he was going to come back and kill you. Yes. Six days before, the 25-year-old bought the RF-15 and 120 rounds.

The police report included this note handwritten by Sturgeon after getting the gun. Oh my God, this is so easy. I know that it's really easy to buy a gun, but it almost felt like that he was bragging about how easy it was. River City Firearms, where Sturgeon bought the gun, has not been charged with any crime. But data obtained by the gun violence prevention group Brady and reviewed by NBC News reveals that the ATF notified the dealer that a large number of guns bought at the store have been used in crimes. A dealer gets a letter like this one when at least 25 of its firearms sold in the last three years are traced to crimes in the previous 12 months. The agency has sent more than 1,500 dealers these notifications since 2022, according to the data. River City Firearms didn't get just one letter. Brady says the store has

been continually flagged, telling us that between 2020 and 2022, at least 75 crimes were committed with guns bought right here. The ATF says the letter does not mean a dealer has engaged in any form of wrongdoing. A number of factors, including geography, sales volume, and the resale of guns, can be to blame. In 2003, Congress passed a law prohibiting the ATF from releasing firearm trace data to the public. Brady says it relied on the Freedom of Information Act to compel the agency to release the letters. Understanding where these guns are coming from allows us to turnel the agency to release the letters. Understanding where these guns are coming from allows us to turn off the flow of trafficked firearms at their source and stop flooding communities that are most impacted. A trade organization for the firearms industry

disagrees. Nobody in the industry wants to see criminals obtaining firearms. National Shooting Sports Foundation says releasing the information publicly could hamper law enforcement and be used to name and shame gun dealers unfairly when there's no way to conclude the dealer is at fault. Not from the mere fact that a gun has been traced and that the dealer is the person who sold it after a background check supported by the industry to a consumer. Brady argues that policymakers, regardless of where they stand on the issue of gun control, need access to the ATF data. So that we can have vigorous debates about what the best solutions are. Dana Mitchell is one of five people suing River City Firearms, accusing it of a reckless

dereliction of duty, arguing Sturgeon's behavior at the store should have raised red flags. NBC News reached out to the store, but they declined to comment. Should there not be some liability there? You're the first line of defense to keep those weapons off the street and out of the hands of people that have no business having them. Mitchell believes in the right to bear arms, but lives with a daily reminder of the hands of people that have no business having them. Mitchell believes in the right to bear arms, but lives with a daily reminder of the damage that can be done by someone she says never should have had one.

Stephanie Gosk, NBC News, Louisville, Kentucky. And up next, the company fueling the AI revolution, the craze over NVIDIA, now worth trillions. Another record day on Wall Street, driven in large part by a company at the center of the AI revolution, now the third most valuable in the nation. Its market value hitting two trillion at one point today. We get more on its meteoric rise from Brian Chung. It's the two trillion dollar company captivating social media. Who was watching nvidia earnings

today and their heart was literally skipping a beat nvidia the chips makers selling a majority of the tech powering artificial intelligence the rapid development of generative ai tools relying on the processors nvidia makes what is it that nIA offers that AI needs so much? They offer the chips, the hardware, the networking, the software to make deploying artificial intelligence extremely easy. NVIDIA shares still popping here. After saying earlier this week that its profits soared, the stock jumped, propelling NVIDIA to the third largest company in the U.S., behind only Microsoft and Apple. I made $560. Kaitlin Mackey among the young investors putting their faith in NVIDIA. She says conversation about the stock even comes up on dates.

Does that feel normal to you? There's nothing about what's going on with technology right now that feels normal. Another winner, CEO Jensen Huang, now on the cusp of becoming one of the 20 wealthiest people in the world. It's definitely a watershed event for the AI industry. For both AI and NVIDIA, the sky is now the limit. Brian Chung, NBC News, New York. And up next, we'll hear from the American astronaut who spent a record 371 days out of this world. Finally, he spent more days in space than any other American. And now that he's returned to Earth, he's reflecting on his record-breaking ride.

Here's Morgan Chesky. Touchdown confirmed at 6.17 a.m. Central Time. Rubio's record ride comes to an end. His historic homecoming straight out of a movie. But back on Earth, astronaut Frank Rubio's been loving life out of the limelight. It's really been good to get home and be back with my family and, you know, get outside. Especially after being stuck inside the space station. Rubio's six-month mission doubling after his ride home a Russian spaceship sprang a coolant leak.

The proud father of four doing his best to keep family close. They got a lot of FaceTime or, you know, video conferencing out of me. The trip making Rubio one of NASA's most frequent flyers, orbiting Earth just shy of 6,000 times. Add it up, and NASA says the voyage logged more than 157 million miles of NASA's most frequent flyers, orbiting Earth just shy of 6,000 times. Add it up, and NASA says the voyage logged more than 157 million miles. Begging the question, what's on the playlist? I love the Simon & Garfunkel station,

but then I would also listen to a lot of 90s pop, right? And so quite the dichotomy there. Balanced guy. Yeah. The helicopter pilot and surgeon put on his scientist hat in space, conducting hundreds of experiments. Ork, he says, took the edge off becoming the first American ever to log an entire calendar year in orbit. Just don't expect him to brag. This is a

record that you are totally okay with being broken. Yeah, yeah, yeah, 100%. And hopefully we'll break it in even cooler places out in space. A final frontier this astronaut isn't done with yet. Morgan Chesky, NBC News, Houston. Nice to have him back. That's nightly news for this Friday. Thank you for watching. I'm Lester Holt. Please take care of yourself and each other. Good night.