NBC Nightly News with Tom Llamas - Friday, October 18, 2024

Episode Date: October 19, 2024

Harris responds to new polling that shows Trump ahead among male voters; All-out battle for critical Michigan voters; New details of Israeli operation that killed Hamas leader; and more on tonight’s broadcast.

Tonight, our NBC News exclusive one-on-one with Vice President Kamala Harris. The danger, she says, Donald Trump poses. Her gender gap with men in the polls. And what she would do differently from President Biden. With just 18 days until the election, the Vice President going on offense. You've increasingly attacked former President Trump as an unstable and unhinged. Is that an effective closing argument? Ms. Harris also pushing back on her lagging numbers with men. And we ask her what is one

policy she would have done differently than President Biden, how she responded. And both of the candidates campaigning in Michigan on the eve of early voting, starting in that key battleground after trading jabs at the Al Smith dinner in New York. New video leading up to the killing of Hamas's leader as his death renews the U.S. push for a ceasefire. Opening statements in the Delphi murders case, the man charged with brutally killing two teenage girls more than seven years ago. A dangerous midair close call on American Airlines 737 and a small plane coming within 400 feet of each other. The Texas Supreme Court at the 11th hour halting a controversial execution.

What happens now? And there's good news tonight. The team's leaving the city to connect with the great outdoors. This is NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt. Good evening and welcome. Tonight, Vice President Harris speaking to NBC News at a campaign stop in Michigan this afternoon, responding to new NBC News polling that shows Donald Trump with a double-digit lead among male voters. Her campaign making adjustments aimed at narrowing that gap,

while at the same time, former President Trump is opening up about what he thinks is hurting him with women voters. Also tonight, Vice President Harris keeping up the drumbeat over Mr. Trump's fitness to hold office and his stamina after what she says were some notable absences on the trail. Harris, meantime, also making news over her blunt assessment of the role of vice president. 18 days to go in Michigan is where both candidates are. And it's where we start with Peter Alexander. We spoke to Vice President Harris moments after her Grand Rapids rally here in Battleground, Michigan, where she sharpened her criticism of former president trump he who has called for the quote

termination of the constitution of the united states of america at the convention you cast yourself as a joyful warrior but in recent rallies you've increasingly attacked former president trump is an unstable and unhinged. Is that an effective closing? Is that an effective closing argument? I think that one is not to the exclusion of the other. I have a great deal of optimism, as do the people who are here about the future of our country. That is not in conflict with also being clear eyed about the danger that Donald Trump poses based on the language that he has used and his admiration for dictators, his inability to really focus on the needs of the

American people, in particular working people. These things are not in conflict. They all exist at the same time. The critics who say the joy is gone, you respond? Oh, I'm having a great time. And we pressed her about the widening gender gap. The latest NBC News poll shows Harris leads Trump among women by 14 points. But Trump has a 16 point advantage with men. Just today, the Harris campaign expanding its advertising on websites that draw largely male audiences like the sports betting site DraftKings, the vice president downplaying the divide. Why do you think there is a disconnect for you with men right now? Well, let me tell you, you can look at this audience and you can see that there are people

of every background and gender who are showing up by the thousands. And I think it is because they know I intend to be a president for all Americans. And that is how I'm campaigning to earn the vote of every American, not only about their gender, but about their geographic location and unburdened by who they may have voted for in the past. Just to be clear, though, men still say by a 16 percent margin they're supporting Donald Trump right now. Why do you think that is? It's not the experience that I'm having, to be honest with you. Harris has been reluctant to distance herself from President Biden, today casting it as a matter of loyalty. President Biden said this week that every

president has to cut their own path. What is one policy that you would have done differently over these last three and a half years than President Biden? I mean, to be very candid with you, you even including Mike Pence, vice presidents are not critical of their presidents. I think that really actually, in terms of the tradition of it and also just going forward, it does not make for a productive and important relationship. He's now giving you that green light with his comments that you can carve your own path. So now that you have this ability to say that to be on your own. No, going forward, there is no question that I bring my own experiences and my own life

experiences. Is there a policy that stands out to you in particular? Sure. I mean, my approach to what we need to do around Medicare covering home health care, born out of my experience of taking care of my mother. My priority on housing, one, because I know what it means, affordable housing and the ability to buy a home. But also I know that for so many young people who I speak with around our country, the American dream is just really out of reach. So my policy about twenty five thousand dollar down payment assistance to help them get their foot in the door. The work that I have been doing and will bring to the presidency around emphasizing small businesses as being part of the real backbone of America's economy. And Peter, NBC News has also requested to speak with former President Trump as well. Lester, that's right. The Trump campaign agreed to an interview last Monday focused on the

economy. The campaign canceled it, saying it would reschedule, but so far has not. Lester. All right, Peter, thank you. And former President Trump was also in Michigan today, highlighting the state's critical role in this election. Garrett Haik now on the new lines of attack with just 18 days to go. Tonight, the all out battle for critical Michigan, drawing both candidates to the Great Lakes state. Vice President Harris questioning former President Trump's fitness for the job. Now he is ducking debates and canceling interviews. If you are exhausted on the campaign trail, it raises real questions about whether you are fit for the toughest job in the world.

Trump firing back, saying Harris wasn't there in person for last night's Al Smith Catholic charity event, a traditional campaign stop like he was. She held a rally instead. What event did I cancel? I haven't canceled. She didn't even show up for the Catholics last night at the hotel. It was insulting. I've gone 48 days now without arrest, and I've got that loser who doesn't have the energy of a rabbit. While Trump earlier acknowledging his opposition to federal abortion rights is hurting him with women voters. You have one issue. You have the issue of abortion.

Without abortion, the women love me. Falsely claiming most support the repeal of Roe v. Wade. I've taken this issue out of the federal government and put it back to the states where they're voting. Meanwhile, both campaigns continue to battle for black men, a critical voting bloc here. Polls show the vast majority back Harris. But former President Obama has warned she's not getting enough support. Ramone Jackson voted for Obama. Now he backs Trump. I like the tears that he said on moving products or moving production to different countries. That creates jobs. Reverend Horace Sheffield III is supporting Harris. Having a candidate like this with her credentials and everything she's done has just made me even more enthusiastic. And this campaign blitz here in Michigan begins as in-person early

voting gets underway here tomorrow. Harris holds a rally in Detroit tomorrow. Donald Trump heads to Pennsylvania. Lester. Garrett Haig tonight. Thank you. There is breaking news out of California's Bay Area. A four-alarm brush fire damaging multiple homes in the Oakland Hills. An evacuation order in effect for the area. Dozens of firefighters are on the scene. The Bay Area, we should note, is under a red flag warning today for dry and windy conditions. We'll continue to watch that. One day after confirmation that Israel had killed the leader of Hamas, the group said today it will not return any of the hostages in Gaza before Israel withdraws from the territory.

Erin McLaughlin has more on the killing of Yahya Sinwar. Tonight, new details about the Israeli operation that killed the mastermind of the October 7th terror attack. The Israeli military released this footage, claiming to show the moment a tank opened fire, ending the life of Yahya Sinwar. The culmination of an hours-long battle on Wednesday, in which the IDF says grenades were thrown from Sinwar's direction at Israeli soldiers. One soldier was seriously wounded and concluded with the leader of Hamas cornered, wounded and alone. President Biden in Germany today, hoping the moment marks a turning point.

We think there's a road to peace there. It's going to be harder. It's going to be difficult. Hamas has yet to name a successor. Israeli terrorism and intelligence expert Yoram Schweitzer believes Sinwar's brother Mohammed, seen in this video released by the Israeli military, will carry on with his brutality. Unless we find his brother and kill him too, I think we will encounter the same policy. So you don't think this is going to change Hamas's course? Not in Gaza, not immediately. Hopefully he won't take revenge from the hostages, but we'll have to see.

Is that a concern that he could? It's a concern. Tonight, there's also concern for 400,000 Palestinians trapped in northern Gaza. This week, the U.S. gave Israel 30 days to improve the humanitarian situation. The U.S. ambassador to the United Nations warning that a policy of starvation would not be acceptable. Secretary Blinken arrives in the region next week. He hopes to convince the Israeli prime minister to stop the war in Gaza and begin serious considerations about what comes next. Lester.

Erin McLaughlin, thank you. A major crisis in Cuba tonight, a blackout across the entire island nation after one of its power plants failed and the national electric grid shut down. Some 10 million people are without power. Officials say they are working to get the grid running again, but there is no timeline for restoration. In a small town in Indiana, emotional testimony today as the murder trial got underway for the man accused of brutally killing two teenage girls seven years ago. Maggie Vespa is there for us tonight. In Delphi, Indiana, a high-profile double murder trial is underway over the 2017 stabbing deaths of 13-year-old Abby Williams and 14-year-old Libby German, best friends who were in volleyball and

band together. Prosecutors in today's opening statement saying 52-year-old Richard Allen used power and fear to kill the teens. The state arguing witnesses spotted the local husband and father on a walking trail. Investigators saying Libby recorded this encounter with a man that day. Prosecutors allege it was Allen who forced the girls down a hill at gunpoint, stabbed them and left Libby completely naked, covered in blood, her throat slit. Allens pleaded not guilty, his attorneys saying he's innocent and refuting prosecutors' claims that a bullet found at the scene matches his pistol, arguing tests were inconclusive. The girls' families arriving to court this morning with Libby's grandmother

tearfully testifying about the day the missing girls were found, saying, I saw the coroner's truck driving by, and that's when I knew they weren't alive. The jury, bussed in from another county and sequestered, has been told they'll hear from an estimated 170 witnesses. If convicted, Allen faces up to 130 years in prison. Lester. Maggie Bespa. Thank you. A Texas man condemned to die has lived to fight another day. Robert Robertson, convicted of murder based on the now controversial shaken baby syndrome diagnosis, was granted a stay of execution by a court last night, a decision that will soon briefly send him from death row to the state capitol. Tonight, Robert Robertson is off death watch back on death row where he

has waited for the past 21 years to die. And where I recently met him, you're about to be put to death. You're sure. Last night outside the prison in Huntsville, family and supporters embracing when news came a stay of execution had been granted after an excruciating roller coaster overnight that brought Roberson within 90 minutes of receiving a lethal injection. The stay granted by the Texas Supreme Court after a stunning move by a bipartisan group of Texas lawmakers. We believe this to be an innocent man where the facts have not come out. A legislative committee crafting an unprecedented plan to spare Roberson's life by serving him with a subpoena to appear before the committee next Monday. A hearing the court noted he cannot attend if he is dead. I would love to see him get a new trial.

There is so much that was thrown out on hearsay, medical experts, things that were not allowed. Veteran Texas criminal attorney Brian Weiss, who was not involved in the case, calling the legal twists unheard of. What happened yesterday, in a word, was extraordinary. In the 45 years since I've left the Court of Criminal Appeals, I've never seen any fact pattern that comes within an area code of what happened. Roberson was convicted in the 2002 shaken baby death of his two-year-old daughter, a now broadly discredited medical diagnosis.

I couldn't believe it, you know, because I was accused of, I lost her, but then I was accused of her death, you know. Roberson, who spent what he thought to be his last hours with family and his spiritual advisor, now hoping lawmakers can give him what the courts have not, his life. Roberson is expected to appear in person at the Texas Capitol in Austin on Monday. In 60 seconds, the tense moments in the air as a 737 and a small plane come dangerously close. The pilot's forced to take evasive action right after this. An FAA investigation is underway tonight after a dangerous close call in the skies over Texas.

An American Airlines 737 and a smaller plane coming just a few hundred feet away from colliding. Stephanie Gosk is here. Stephanie, what happened? This was a frightening close call here, Lester. On Wednesday, this American Airlines flight left from Chicago. It was landing in Austin when it unexpectedly got within 350 feet of that Cessna 182, which is a very small four person prop plane that triggered a collision avoidance alarm within the cockpit of the 737. So the pilots pulled up, but then that put them close to another plane, a Cirrus SF-50, which is a small jet. That small jet then had to make a turn to the right. Thankfully,

there were no collisions, but it was definitely a very close call. And American Airlines put out a statement about that pull up that the 737 had to do, calling it a safe and standard maneuver that its pilots are trained to execute when needed. Lester, this incident happens just days after the FAA said it is going to be examining the runway safety at 45 of the nation's busiest airports. Yeah, cascading series of events there. All right, Stephanie, thank you. Up next, in the heat of the legal battle over reproductive choices, the drastic steps some fertility

patients are taking. We'll have their story right after this. After a first of its kind ruling on frozen embryos earlier this year in Alabama, some families are taking drastic measures. Here's Laura Jarrett. Our very first visit, we sat on this couch, just coming back here, just brings back all Some families are taking drastic measures. Here's Laura Jarrett. Our very first visit, we sat on this couch. Just coming back here just brings back all the memories. The nerds. Just a year after giving birth to her son Ryder, Alicia Posey returned to her fertility clinic in Birmingham, Alabama this month for another milestone event. We have Alicia Posey. Alicia and her husband Kyle, who conceived Ryder with the help of IVF, now among an increasing number of patients, opting to move their remaining frozen

embryos out of state. You feel more safe with your embryos in Colorado than you do here in Alabama. I do. The main reason being the law. I don't feel comfortable having them here anymore. The law, an unprecedented decision from Alabama's highest court in February, finding parents could sue an IVF clinic for wrongful death after their embryos were dropped on the floor. The underlying logic equating embryos on ice to unborn children in the womb prompted panic and an outcry as embryos with abnormalities are routinely discarded as part of IVF to help patients avoid miscarriages or other complications. But the court decision didn't spell out any such exceptions, and most clinics feared legal jeopardy. What has this year been like for you? It's been stressful. Dr. Karen Hammond is a founder of Innovative Fertility Specialists

in Birmingham, one of the few clinics in the state that did not stop doing IVF. And now many of her patients, like Alicia, are moving their embryos to places with less restrictive laws. Does it feel odd that people are planning their families around a court decision? The whole thing feels odd to me. Tomorrow Life Sciences, the cryo storage company Dr. Hammond has partnered with, says it's seen a 60 percent rise in direct patient inquiries in 2024 alone. In Alabama, lawmakers moved quickly after the court decision to pass a legislative fix. Still, the decision and its aftermath has put battle lines over reproductive choices into sharp focus this election year. I'm the father of IVF.

He is the one who, by the way, is responsible for it being at risk in the first place. While 13 states have introduced new bills that would give embryos legal rights. Do you see this as almost ground zero in the fight over reproductive freedom and IVF? You know, I think it is perhaps a reality check for what it means when the government is involved in reproductive rights. With 16 embryos from Dr. Hammond's patients now in Colorado, her team is preparing for the next group to leave the state. Laura Jarrett, NBC News, Birmingham. And up next for

these young men, why camping is so much more than a taste of the outdoors. There's good news tonight. Next. As the fall leaves change color, a group of teens from the city are connecting in nature while disconnecting from the digital world. Rahima Ellis now with good news tonight. Gentlemen, welcome. Ten high school teenagers arriving for a free camping weekend in Blairstown, New Jersey, a world away from their lives in Brooklyn. I'm just at peace. It's 17-year-old Sean Richardson's second year camping. I get to clear my head and I don't have to worry about the stresses of like being in New York, hearing like sirens. I see stars out here.

And you like that? Yeah. We come from the same places that you come from. We have experienced the life that you are living today. The goal, building a brotherhood. It starts with disconnecting. By Sunday, you guys won't even realize you're missing your phone. Later, setting up tents.

Yeah, that's good. Cooking and eating together. Why bring city kids out into the woods when they've got to learn how to live in the city? They need to know that nature nurtures and heals. Manny Almonte founded the non-profit initiative Camping to Connect. And then we're going to be going north all the way down here. The program giving young men of color from marginalized communities in New York and Denver, Colorado, a safe outdoor space to connect.

Take a deep breath. We help them find those places, that peace of mind, that clarity, and we give them the tools to find their way back. As the sun sets over the Delaware River, a night hike. You can't race through these woods. Yeah, you gotta go slow and steady. Lessons in listening and leadership. By climbing mountains and reaching the top of the hill and struggling together, they can win together. Out here and back home. Rahima Ellis, NBC News, Blairstown, New Jersey. And that is nightly news for this Friday.

Thank you for watching. I'm Lester Holt. Please take care of yourself and each other. Good night.