NBC Nightly News with Tom Llamas - Friday, June 14, 2024

Episode Date: June 15, 2024

Parts of Florida still reeling from severe flooding; California's beaches threatened by climate change; Pompeii excavation reveals "blue room" after nearly 2000 years; and more on tonight’s broadcast.

Tonight, the new storm threat moving into the Northeast as millions in Florida brace for more devastating floods. The new image is coming into us, entire neighborhoods underwater after some areas got nearly two feet of rain. First responders rescuing families trapped in their homes and the other storm threat we're tracking moving into the Northeast. Thousands of flights delayed as we hit a record-breaking stretch of summer travel. Also tonight, two terrifying mid-air incidents involving Southwest planes. One aircraft plunging within 400 feet of hitting the ocean. Another damaged by a rare and scary phenomenon.

The investigations tonight. The major reversal on bump stocks. They allow semi-automatic guns to shoot much faster. Why the Supreme Court overturned the Trump-era ban. Princess Kate sharing a new image and an update on her cancer battle. Saying she's making progress but not out of the woods yet. Her plans to make a public return this weekend. President Biden meeting with the Pope on the sidelines of the G7. Also, Jimmy Fallon,

Chris Rock, Whoopi Goldberg at the Vatican for a star-studded event. California's crumbling coastline and the families who fear their homes will be washed away. And our exclusive access to the hidden secret beneath the ruins of Pompeii, newly discovered after nearly 2,000 years. This is NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt. Good evening and welcome. We have made it to the end of the week, and it has been a disastrous one for millions in South Florida who have been hit with relentless rain for four straight days now. A flood watch still in effect in many areas this evening after storms brought more than 20 inches of rain to the region, leaving roads underwater,

cars submerged and hundreds of homes flooded. First responders carrying out new rescues today, reaching families who have been trapped in their homes for days in some cases. And there's a new threat we're tracking tonight. Severe storms putting 52 million people at risk from the high plains to the northeast. The weather causing travel headaches. Thousands of flights delayed as we head into the busy Father's Day weekend. Our Sam Brock is in the storm zone in Florida. Sam, the threat continues tonight. Yeah, look, Lester, right now many parts of the country are bracing for severe weather, even as things have calmed down a bit here in South Florida.

That said, we have still seen about the same amount of rainfall as Hurricane Irma from a couple of years ago. And Lester, right now, there are high water vehicles on this flooded street reaching residents, trying to get them out to safety as these issues continue into the Father's Day weekend. Tonight in Florida, it's round four. With a week's worth of rainwater still cascading through these neighborhoods, including this portion of Miami-Dade that's seen close to two feet of water.

Fire crews this morning hoisting people from their homes. In North Miami, there's still three to four feet of water on the ground, even at this point. If you don't have a tow truck or an SUV like this to get out of here, some residents say they have been stuck without being able to leave for days. It's just unsanitary to see people walking through the water. I mean, we're living in 2024. A reminder of the times, serious trouble in the air. There have been several thousand flight delays across the U.S., with inclement weather proving incredibly disruptive. From Boston, blasted by thunderstorms, to Minnesota, still recovering from earlier this week. Back in Florida, residents are trying to dry out.

What are you doing with that? I'm soaking the water out because it's like about two inches. One man using a vacuum in his house. I haven't seen Miami like this. Like this, I see it more like during like hurricane time, but not like non-hurricane related, no. To this couple waiting for their car to be towed, Governor DeSantis downplaying the urgency today, one month after signing a bill to reduce the footprint of climate change in the state's energy policy. The most recent briefing I found was it's more of a typical South Florida afternoon

type shower. Do you think for folks who are in the middle of this, it's upsetting to hear the governor describe it as a normal thunderstorm? Yeah, of course they don't get mad. It's not a normal thunderstorm. You can't get mad at Mother Nature, but it's been happening over and over. Sam Brock, NBC News, North Miami. And heading into the busy travel weekend, we're learning about two recent scary mid-air incidents. A commercial airliner coming close to slamming into the ocean off Hawaii, and another going into an uncommanded role. We get more from Tom Costello.

It was a very close call off Kauai in April. The FAA confirming it's investigating a Southwest flight that came within 400 feet of slamming into the ocean while attempting to land in bad weather. A Southwest memo to pilots says a less experienced first officer inadvertently pushed the control column forward, then cut the speed, causing cockpit alarms to go off before the captain ordered an aggressive climb. No injuries. Southwest tells NBC News nothing is more important than safety. The event was addressed appropriately as we always strive for continuous improvement. Meanwhile, the NTSB is investigating another incident that happened in May on a Southwest flight from Phoenix to Oakland. At 34,000 feet, the 737 MAX 8 suddenly went into what pilots call a Dutch roll, oscillating and rocking from side to side.

Pilots regained control and landed safely. A post-flight inspection revealed damage to the standby power control unit that provides backup power to the rudder. The FAA says it has no reports of similar problems involving other 737 MAXs. I don't think we have a fleet problem here. There's something unique to this airplane, and that's what the investigators are going to concentrate on. And another concern, the FAA looking at whether potentially counterfeit titanium from China made its way into the Boeing and Airbus supply chains

with forged documents. Boeing flagged the concern to the FAA. Both Boeing and Airbus say there's no sign that any aircraft was made with suspect titanium. Does the FAA have enough inspectors right now to truly keep an eye on Boeing? We feel like we have enough inspectors, but we continue to hire and train more inspectors. This all comes as the TSA predicts it could screen a record number of passengers next week, three million in a single day. Lester. All right, Tom Costello, thank you. A major ruling today from the Supreme Court overturning the ban on bump stocks. It was put in place during the Trump era after the 2017 Las Vegas massacre. Here's Laura Jarrett. It was the deadliest mass shooting in American history,

unleashed near the Vegas Strip. A gunman killing 60 people at a concert, injuring hundreds more. His arsenal of weapons outfitted with bump stocks, prompting former President Trump to classify them as machine guns and ban them. We've taken important steps, but much work remains to be done. Today, the Supreme Court's conservative majority saying that ban went too far. Bump stocks allow semi-automatic rifles to fire more quickly, hundreds of rounds per

minute, harnessing a gun's natural recoil to allow a user to bump the trigger faster. The justices wrestled with whether the devices fit the technical definition of a machine gun, something long banned under federal law, finding they do not in a divided 6-3 ruling today, with Justice Thomas writing, even with a bump stock, a semi-automatic rifle will fire only one shot for every function of the trigger. But Justice Sotomayor in dissent, finding bump stocks functionally equivalent to a machine gun, writing, when I see a bird that walks like a duck, swims like a duck, and quacks like a duck, I call that bird a duck.

Some lawful gun owners like Jeremiah Cottle, who invented the bump stock, had argued the prior administration simply overstepped its authority. The president doesn't get to make law that Congress does. Tonight, the White House calling on Congress to ban the device. What the court did today is really rolling back what otherwise is important progress to be made to prevent gun violence in America. And Laura is here. We're still waiting on some more key rulings from this court. Yes, Lester, there's still another major decision to come still on guns. And of course, the ruling about whether the former president is immune from prosecution for trying to overturn the last

election. All right, Laura Jarrett, thank you. There's good news tonight from Princess Kate breaking her silence on how her cancer treatments are going and revealing plans to make her first official appearance since her diagnosis this weekend. Here's Megan Fitzgerald. Tonight, Catherine, the Princess of Wales, posting a new photo along with a candid update on her cancer treatment. I am making good progress, she says, but as anyone going through chemotherapy will know, there are good days and bad days. In her message, the princess says she knows she's not out of the woods yet and taking each day as it comes, listening to my body and allowing myself to take this much-needed time to heal.

This is the first time Princess Kate publicly addressed her cancer since announcing the diagnosis in March. It has been an incredibly tough couple of months for our entire family. Today, thanking people for their messages of support and encouragement, saying, it really has made the world of difference to William and me and has helped us both through some of the harder times. The 42-year-old, who has not attended official events since Christmas and underwent abdominal surgery in January, went on to say, I'm looking forward to attending the King's birthday parade this weekend and hope to join a few public engagements over the summer. And while tomorrow is about celebrating King Charles, you can bet

all eyes are going to be on the Princess of Wales, who's expected to be in a horse-drawn carriage and on the balcony with other members of the royal family. Lester. All right. Megan Fitzgerald in London. Thank you. Now to Italy and President Biden's big meeting with Pope Francis. It comes as Russian President Vladimir Putin insists he's open to peace in Ukraine, but with some controversial conditions. Gabe Gutierrez reports. Tonight, President Biden wrapping up the G7 summit in Italy after a private meeting with Pope Francis. The president, a devout Catholic, greeted the pontiff along with other G7 leaders, the pope urging them to establish guardrails for AI. Artificial intelligence is a fascinating tool and also

a terrifying one, he says. The Pope using his pulpit in non-traditional ways, hosting a gathering of more than 100 comedians and actors at the Vatican, including Jimmy Fallon, Whoopi Goldberg and Chris Rock, among others, telling them in the midst of so much gloomy news, you have the power to spread peace and smiles. Peace seems a long way off in Ukraine. Russian President Vladimir Putin now saying he'd be willing to hold ceasefire talks, but only if Ukraine were to give up territory and not join NATO. Conditions Ukraine is calling absurd after President Biden and Ukrainian President Zelensky signed a security agreement yesterday. We're going to stand with Ukraine. President Biden also denouncing recent acts of

hate in New York, including anti-Semitic threats in this subway car. Protesters also holding a banner reading Long Live October 7th outside an exhibit honoring Israeli victims of the Hamas terror attacks, as well as vandals scrawling Hamas symbols in red paint on the home of a museum director who is Jewish. The president writing the horrific acts of anti-Semitism this week are abhorrent. Late tonight, the White House responding to Putin's offer, saying there's not a country in the world that can stay with a straight face. This is acceptable. Lester. All right, Gabe, thank you. There is news just in tonight from Houston, where the Sandy Hook families are still fighting to get the one point five billion dollars in damages they are owed from conspiracy theorist Alex Jones. And Thompson is here. What happened in court? Lester, Alex Jones will have to liquidate his personal assets to help pay that debt. But the federal bankruptcy judge in Houston said the conspiracy promoter

could keep his business that runs his InfoWars website, saying that it was one of the most difficult cases he's had. Judge Chris Lopez dismissed the request to liquidate free speech systems. He apologized for making that decision two days before Father's Day. It is also the week that the classmates of the 20 child victims graduated from high school. Jones is estimated to have $9 million in personal assets. The company is said to have a cash value of $6 million. The theory behind the decision is that keeping the business going allows it to pay the families. The judge put no limits on what Judge Jones can say on his webcast. Lester?

All right, Ann, thank you. In just 60 seconds, the telehealth executives charge an alleged $100 million scheme and what it has to do with the nationwide shortage on ADHD medication. We are back now with news about the nationwide Adderall shortage. Now, two telehealth executives have been arrested at a company that prescribed millions of the pills. Here's NBC's Maggie Vespa. You are not your ADHD. And we are done. Tonight, Done Global, a telehealth provider promising hope to millions under a federal microscope, with the Justice Department announcing the arrests of top executives Ruthie Aja and David Brody. Prosecutors charging them with carrying out a $100 million fraud scheme, distributing more than 40 million pills of Adderall and other prescription stimulants,

whether or not patients qualified. Attorney General Merrick Garland alleging the California-based startup exploited the COVID-19 pandemic and its loosened regulations around online prescriptions. The DOJ alleges Dunn targeted drug seekers and exacerbated a nationwide shortage of Adderall, first declared in 2022. That shortage still plaguing people like 10-year-old Linus Howell, whose parents struggle monthly to fill his prescription, once calling 22 pharmacies and driving nearly two hours. How mind-blowing is that?

I mean, it's frustrating for me as a parent. The Chicago family now hearing about the alleged fraud. It furthers a narrative that Adderall is more of a recreational drug. I feel like it's just extremely unfortunate for people who actually need it. The CDC estimates up to 50,000 patients could now have their access to medication impacted. I think we already have a crisis of health care providers in our country. Now we're going to add 50,000 people who need new providers. NBC News has learned Ha has yet to enter a plea. Brody has pleaded not guilty if convicted. Both face up to 20 years in prison. Lester. Okay, Maggie Vespa, thank you. When we return inside the desperate effort to save the crumbling coast and the houses of so many who call it home.

And we're back now with a story from the edge of the climate crisis. Coastal erosion in California from record rainfall is contributing to a new challenge, shrinking beaches up and down the state. Liz Kreutz reports on the effort to save them. It's one of the most iconic parts of California, the sprawling beaches. But after two years of record rainfall, now a growing conundrum. How to save the state's crumbling coastline. The volleyball court was where the rocks were.

Mary Ann and Duke Stroud live smack on the beach in the city of Oceanside, which has lost 45 feet of sand since 2000. We've had the volleyball in our front yard. When Marianne's family moved here in the 40s, it looked nothing like it does today. There really is no beach. The beach is gone. Shrinking beaches in the area are in part due to man-made projects, but locals say made worse by the intensifying storms that have hammered the state and left homes teetering on cliffs and parts of Highway 1 and Big Sur collapsed.

Some beaches across the state now look like this, mostly cobble and rocks, little to no sand, which beyond just making a beach enjoyable is critical to protecting these bluffs and slowing coastal erosion. Scientists say sand acts as a natural buffer against pounding waves that eat away at the cliffs. We have critical infrastructure like highways and railways that are threatened by erosion if we don't have that beach there to buffer the waves as they come into our coastline. Already, some cities are making plans to move train tracks and part of a highway further inland away from the eroding coast. This, as USGS says, by 2100, up to 75 percent of the state's

beaches may disappear without limited human intervention due to rising sea levels. And so underway right now, a multimillion dollar race to build back the beaches. In Encinitas, this diminished beach has recently been tripled in size by a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers sand replenishment project. And back north in Oceanside, a different approach. This used to be sand coming right down here. A grassroots group is advocating to build so-called speed bumps like this to slow the erosion. It's a strategy they say has already successfully saved Australia's Gold Coast. We can't have devastation on our shoreline and then now we're having an

emergency response. Why don't we be proactive? There's no one hoping for that more than Marianne and Duke, who are now dealing with a new kind of toll. As insurance companies pull out of the state due to growing damage from climate disasters, the cost of their coverage has tripled. What have they told you? That California has insurance problems and you're lucky to be insured. What's next is now in limbo. If more isn't done to change this, what's the future of this beach? There is no future. This house is gone.

A changing coast and uncertain future, but a hope that saving the sand, if not a long-term fix, will at least buy California time to find one. Liz Kreutz, NBC News, Oceanside, California. When we come back into the ancient world of Pompeii, our exclusive look at incredible artifacts just discovered next. Finally tonight, buried under lava and ash, nearly 2,000 years old, we get an exclusive tour of new discoveries in the ancient city of Pompeii. Here's NBC's Kelly Kobiea. Tonight, a rare glimpse into the distant past.

So this, oh wow, this is the Blue Room? It's a very special thing. A stunning room, hidden for centuries under 20 feet of volcanic debris, revealed for the first time. It's so vibrant. Archaeologists think it's a shrine covered in breathtaking frescoes and rare Egyptian blue paint. On the floor, piles of construction materials left just as they were when Mount Vesuvius erupted nearly 2,000 years ago. What did you think when you first saw this room, the blue room? I was stunned. You can see these really fine details and evidence. That's just incredible. These MIT students already on site, using specially adapted night vision goggles

and handheld scanners to study the new finds. Nobody's really looked at these materials before. This room, one of many, recently unearthed in the biggest dig in a generation. Vast banquet halls, working bakeries, children's drawings, all preserved by the volcanic debris. Archaeologists have been digging here for more than 200 years.

It's the most intact example of a Roman city in the world. A third of it is still buried, and finding the artifacts is only the first step. You have to imagine that this is all buried under volcanic materials. Archaeologists are trying to put the puzzle back together. These fragments, part of a magnificent ceiling, crushed under the weight of volcanic rock. It's nice that these things remain mysteries. There's always intrigue, but I think that's what keeps Pompeii alive.

Always a massive jigsaw puzzle. Absolutely, yeah. The past slowly re-emerging, piece by piece. Kelly Kobiella, NBC News, Pompeii. And 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.