NBC Nightly News with Tom Llamas - Friday, May 17, 2024

Episode Date: May 18, 2024

New video appears to show Sean “Diddy” Combs assaulting his former girlfriend in 2016, deadly storms killed several people in Texas and knocked out power to thousands, Israel says it has recovered the bodies of three hostages taken by Hamas, and more in tonight’s broadcast.

Tonight, the shocking video. The images appearing to show music mogul Sean Diddy Combs brutally assaulting his ex-girlfriend. The hotel surveillance video seeming to show Combs wearing only a towel, coming down the hallway, then grabbing, kicking, and dragging the woman. The video appearing to match allegations she made at a lawsuit last year. It all comes after the feds raided two of his homes in March, what we know. Also tonight, deadly storms slamming the south, 100 mile per hour winds in Houston, blowing out windows on high rises, ripping down a nightclub wall, vehicles crushed, hundreds of thousands without power. Where is it moving next? Israel saying it's recovered the bodies of three hostages from a tunnel in Gaza, including

the 22-year-old woman who became a symbol of the horrors of Hamas. Justice Samuel Alito under fire over this photo of an upside-down American flag outside his home days after January 6th. He starred in hit movies like Tootsie and 9 to 5, remembering Dabney Coleman. This is NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt. Good evening and welcome. Music mogul Sean Diddy Combs facing a new round of negative public scrutiny tonight after the surfacing of disturbing surveillance video, which I'll warn we're about to show in a moment, first obtained by CNN,

of what appears to be Mr. Combs physically assaulting his former girlfriend, Cassie Ventura, in the hallway of a Los Angeles hotel. The video, believed to be from 2016, appears to closely mirror Ventura's account of the incident, as she detailed it for a federal lawsuit filed last year, and that resulted in an undisclosed settlement between the pair. Combs, who has denied previous domestic violence allegations, is right now the subject of a separate federal criminal investigation. Chloe Malas has more on this developing story. Disturbing new video appears to show music executive Sean Diddy Combs physically assaulting

his then-girlfriend Cassie Ventura in a Los Angeles hotel back in 2016. The silent video obtained by CNN, Ventura is seen walking down the hall, followed by Combs wearing only a towel, who is seen grabbing, dragging and kicking Ventura in the elevator bank. The surveillance video appears to be from an incident described in a lawsuit Ventura filed against Combs last November. The complaint states that around March of 2016, at a former Intercontinental Hotel in Century City, Mr. Combs became extremely intoxicated and punched Ms. Ventura in the face, giving her a black eye.

It goes on to describe how he followed her into the hallway, grabbed at her, took glass vases in the hallway and threw them at her, causing glass to crash around them as she ran to the elevator to escape. The complaint also alleges Combs paid the hotel $50,000 for the hallway security footage from that evening. In a statement to NBC News, Intercontinental's parent company said, this hotel is no longer under IHG management and we do not have any access to prior incident records or footage, adding it did not receive money for the footage. So far, there's no indication from law enforcement officials that any criminal complaint was filed by Ventura.

This video could create huge problems for Diddy, especially with people who may be thinking about bringing allegations against Diddy but haven't done so yet. Ventura declined to comment on the footage today. But her attorney released a statement saying the gut-wrenching video has only further confirmed the disturbing and predatory behavior of Mr. Combs. Ventura and Combs settled the lawsuit earlier this year for an undisclosed amount of money. At the time, Combs' team released a statement saying, We have decided to resolve this matter amicably. I wish Cassie and her family all the best. Combs did not respond to NBC News' request for comment today,

but in the past has repeatedly denied committing acts of domestic violence. This comes as the music mogul faces multiple civil lawsuits with allegations including abuse and sexual assault spanning decades. In March, federal agents raided his properties in Los Angeles and Miami. If federal authorities are investigating Diddy for human trafficking violations, this video could be very interesting evidence to them. And Chloe, because of the statute of limitations, we likely won't see criminal charges here. That's right. While the window has passed for Ventura to file criminal charges here, federal investigators could use this video as part of their investigation.

And also, those that have civil cases, they could actually use this video to show that there has been a pattern of behavior here. All right, Chloe Malas tonight. Thank you. Now to the severe weather in the Houston area that left multiple people dead and caused widespread damage with hurricane force winds. It was just the latest destructive storm to hit this spring. Here's Priscilla Thompson. Cars crushed. Homes caved in. Businesses crumbled after a wave of vicious and deadly storms tore through Louisiana and Texas. I'm normally sitting right there.

Kathleen Cox, who's battling cancer, was home when this tree came crashing in. I can't say that I'm perfect, but I'm okay. More than 100 mile per hour winds pounded Houston. People seen here sheltering in a Costco and running for cover as rain poured into Minute Maid Park during the Astros game. In downtown Houston, the ground is still covered with glass, just a fraction of what fell as the storm busted out windows and skyscrapers like this. Officials say at least seven people were killed. Horrible accident with a family tree fell, went right through the driver's compartment with children in the back.

The torrential rain fueling dangerous floodwaters just north of the city as golf ball-sized hail pummeled parts of West Texas. The storm knocking out transmission towers. At one point, more than a million people left in the dark, prompting school shutdowns. As hundreds of crews work to clear roadways and restore power. We are going to have to talk about this disaster in weeks, not days. This latest round of severe weather, part of a weeks-long bout of unrelenting rain and flooding across southeast Texas. Angie Yarbrough's home has been flooded for nearly

three weeks. Now, as the water rises again, she's decided to leave for good. I've cried and cried about it. It's heartbreaking. So 48 years I've been down here, and I can't fight it anymore. I can't do it. Priscilla, what are the conditions like there now? Lester, there are still massive trees like this one in roadways, and officials say it could be up to two weeks until everyone's power is restored. The city now opening cooling centers as temperatures are expected to surge into the 90s this weekend. Lester.

All right, Priscilla, thank you. Let's get right to Bill Kerens. Bill, this severe weather is far from over. Yeah, we've got severe weather. And then for the Houston area, Lester, I mean, they don't need summer-like heat and humidity. But that's exactly what they have coming over the weekend and right through next week. Every single day, the heat index is going to approach 100 degrees. So they have to get the power on for people where they can't stay in their houses or apartments.

It's just going to be way too hot. So as far as the severe weather goes, Tornado Watch continues at this hour. Southern Alabama, southern Georgia, we have had areas that look like we've been rotation, no confirmed tornado so far. So that's good. As far as severe weather tomorrow, Tallahassee, all the way up to Wilmington, Myrtle Beach, Savannah also included in this. And we still have a chance for isolated flash flooding as flood watches continue from New Orleans all the way to southern Georgia. Not over with yet. OK. In San Francisco, a long prison sentence for David DePapp, the man who broke into then House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's home and attacked her husband. DePapp was sentenced to 30 years

in prison for attempted kidnapping and the assault on Paul Pelosi with a hammer a year and a half ago. He faces a separate trial on state charges next week. Now to Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito facing controversy after the New York Times published a photo of an upside down American flag flying at his home in the aftermath of January 6th. Peter Alexander reports. Tonight, top Democrats are demanding Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito recuse himself from cases related to January 6th after the New York Times published this photo showing an American flag flying upside down at his home. The picture reportedly taken just over a week after the

Capitol attack. An upside down flag is meant to signal distress and has been used as a sign of protest by both the left and right. But some of Alito's neighbors tell the Times they were alarmed because it was the symbol adopted by some Trump supporters during the Capitol riot, falsely claiming President Biden stole the election. Alito confirming the photo, telling the Times, I had no involvement whatsoever in the flying of the flag. It was briefly placed by Mrs. Alito in response to a neighbor's use of objectionable and personally insulting language on yard signs. According to the Times, a neighbor said the flag was there for several days and that

Alito's wife, Martha Ann, was in dispute with another homeowner who displayed an anti-Trump sign with an expletive, which offended Martha Ann Alito, leading to an escalating clash between her and that neighbor. Tonight, Democratic Senator Dick Durbin saying the flag creates the appearance of bias, demanding Alito recuse himself from upcoming cases involving January 6th, including former President Trump's presidential immunity case, where he's accused of trying to overturn the 2020 election results. He is, you know, more than willing to wear his partisan colors on his sleeve,

or in this case, on the flagpole. A court spokesperson did not respond to NBC News' request for comment. And Peter, there's also a headline tonight about an offer from NBC News and Telemundo to host a presidential debate. Lester, that's right. President Trump today posted that he has accepted that offer, that he wants to do additional debates with President Biden. But the Biden campaign quickly declined this evening, a senior advisor telling us the debate

about debates is over, that the president has already committed to doing two. Lester. All right, Peter, thank you for that. And the Israeli military today says it found the bodies of three Israeli hostages in Gaza. Two of them were thought to still be alive, but officials today saying they were among hundreds murdered by Hamas terrorists at an Israeli music festival on October 7th, and their bodies were taken to Gaza. One of them, 22-year-old Shani Luke, seen in the back of a Hamas pickup truck at the time. Israel says about 100 hostages and the bodies of 30 more are still being held by Hamas. In 60 seconds, the firestorm after the governor of Texas granted a full pardon to a man convicted of murdering a Black Lives Matter protester. What the mother of the man killed and the attorney for the man

pardoned are telling our reporter next. There is growing fallout tonight in Texas after the state's Republican governor delivered on his vow to pardon a man convicted of murdering a Black Lives Matter protester in 2020. We get more from Marissa Parra. Tonight, Daniel Perry is a free man, one year after he was convicted of murdering Garrett Foster, a Black Lives Matter protester in 2020. The Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles, unanimous in its recommendation to pardon Perry. State Governor Greg Abbott delivering on his years-long and controversial promise to sign it the moment it came to his desk, saying Texas has one of the strongest stand-your-ground laws of self-defense that cannot be nullified by a jury or a progressive district attorney. It'll be four years in July

since Foster was shot dead in Austin. Perry was driving for Uber when Foster, visibly armed, approached his car with a group of people. Perry said he acted in self-defense. I saw him raise his weapon. That's why I'm going to report him. It was Perry's sentencing last year. This court sentences you to a term of 25 years. That Foster's family said brought them peace.

I woke up feeling extremely peaceful and feeling like, thank God, justice works. That peace, they say, now shattered with news of Perry's release. This is like the biggest miscarriage of justice I've ever seen in my life. Perry's attorney says his client is overwhelmed with gratitude. He was in prison as of two o'clock yesterday. Now he's out. And, you know, take some time to decompress and decide where his future is going to lead. But the district attorney vowing the legal fight isn't over. This case is still live on appeal and will continue to explore other legal remedies. The same legal system that has Foster's mom reconsidering her family's safety.

I don't know what kind of a world we live in where something like this is okay, and I won't be living in this state much longer. Marissa Parra, NBC News. And so to come here tonight, the remarkable device, only the size of a pill, putting some premature babies on the road to a healthy life. We'll explain next. We're back now with the tiny devices that can make all the difference for babies born premature. Infant pacemakers. With new advances in technology, they're becoming smaller and smaller and for some families, life-saving. Yamiche Alcindor has more. Abigail Kim spends most of her days smiling and cooing, a life made possible because of a pacemaker the size of a pill.

I had run out of hope, and this device gave us hope. Her parents, Dan and Kelsey, knew it was the only option. It's the smallest pacemaker ever created, no bigger than a penny, designed for premature babies with deadly heart defects like Abby's. Abigail! She's one of the first infants in the world to receive one. Who is the ideal candidate for this tiny pacemaker? The ones that are too small to get a regular device.

And so I would say babies that are between two and six pounds. Dr. Charlie Barul, a pediatric cardiologist at Children's National Hospital, has spent decades trying to find a better way to help those infants. Most of the time this is done for what we call congenital heart block, where the top part of the heart isn't communicating with the bottom part. And so the heart rate is just too slow. But some pacemakers are just too big for a premature baby. That's where these new devices come in.

Doctors can now place the mini pacemakers in the baby's stomach and connect it to their heart. Doctors say the technology has given families with no options like the Kim's life-saving care. And you can see how much smaller the miniature one is compared to the full-size one. Abby's parents, who lost a stillborn infant son to similar heart problems, are thankful. How hard was it to hear that your next pregnancy, Abigail, also had a heart condition? I mean, it's like the world collapsed all over again. We were just hoping for a miracle. It's keeping Abby alive.

We actually got a miracle with Abigail. Can you give me one more kiss? Yamiche Alcindor, NBC News, Washington. And that is Nightly News. A program note, you can catch a new episode of Nightly News Kids Edition Saturday on NBC. I'll see you there. Thanks for watching, everyone. I'm Lester Holt.

Please take care of yourself and each other. Good night.