NBC Nightly News with Tom Llamas - Friday, September 20, 2024

Episode Date: September 21, 2024

Another deadly blast hits Beirut as it exchanges fire with Israel; The Secret Service is under new scrutiny over the assassination attempt on Donald Trump; Kentucky sheriff charged with shooting and killing a judge; and more on tonight’s broadcast.

Tonight, the targeted strike launched by the Israeli military on Hezbollah in Lebanon's capital Beirut. Israel saying the strike killed several senior Hezbollah members, including a top commander suspected in a pair of 1983 bombings that killed more than 300 Americans. Today's strike coming after those waves of deadly device explosions. And just in South Carolina, executing a death row inmate a short time ago, the governor declining to stop it days after a key witness changed his story. The race for the White House, the controversial change in Georgia requiring ballots to be

hand counted, the major problems critics say it could cause. Kamala Harris in that key battleground today slamming Donald Trump over abortion. The Secret Service admitting to failures during the July assassination attempt on Mr. Trump and after that apparent second attempt, the agency now pleading for more resources. The Kentucky sheriff behind bars accused of fatally shooting a judge in his chambers. What was the motive? Our update on a story about Americans crushed by medical debt. One man owing tens of thousands for cancer treatments for his late wife and the major change since our first report aired. This is NBC Nightly

News with Lester Holt. Good evening and welcome everyone. The Mideast on tenterhooks tonight after Israel launched a targeted airstrike inside Lebanon that killed a top Hezbollah commander and at least 13 others, according to state media. Israel saying 10 commanders are among the dead. Killed today, the man Israel identifies as the head of the Iran-backed militia group's operations. And a figure the U.S. believes played a role in the deaths of more than 300 people in the bombings of the American embassy and marine barracks in Beirut in 1983. His death coming as Hezbollah today unleashed waves of its own rockets towards northern Israel in apparent retaliation for those deadly attacks against Hezbollah that

employed electronic devices rigged with explosives. All as the region appears to be sitting closer to the edge of a wider war. Keir Simmons reports now from Beirut. The bomb that hit Beirut today, assassinating high-ranking Hezbollah commanders, Israel says. Blew the walls from the front of a building, killing at least 14 and injuring 66, according to state media. This, the impact of a single Israeli strike, as Lebanon lives with the threat of all-out war. President Biden insisting today peace is still possible. A lot of things don't look realistic until we get them done. We have to keep at it.

Israel says its air raid killed a shadowy Hezbollah commander, Ibrahim Akil, this picture of him from decades ago. The U.S. accused him of involvement in two 1983 deadly bombings in Beirut, the U.S. Embassy and the Marine Corps barracks. His life ended today by an Israeli jet over the same city. Our goals are clear. Our actions speak for themselves, Prime Minister Netanyahu posted. After a week that saw pages and walkie-talkies explode in the hands of Hezbollah operatives, the dead and injured, including children. It's a nightmare. We met this eye surgeon rushing between hospitals.

It kills me. I mean, if you're going to go down and talk to the parents and tell them, sorry, you couldn't save any of your kids' eyes. Hezbollah returning fire today, launching Katyusha rockets over the border after an Israeli bombardment overnight. Israel's defense minister tonight vowing we will continue operating against Hezbollah until we achieve our mission, ensuring the safe return of Israel's northern communities to their homes. Tonight, more war seems inevitable. Keir Simmons is in Beirut tonight. Kira, you were there today when that

strike happened. Lester, we heard the Israeli jet overhead, then minutes later saw pictures of the destruction. Lester, this is not what de-escalation looks like. Lester. All right, Kira Simmons, thanks. We'll turn to breaking news now out of South Carolina. The governor declining to stop the execution of a death row inmate convicted of a murder nearly three decades ago. And as Laura Jarrett reports, he has died by lethal injection tonight. He said he was innocent, but tonight, Freddie Owens put to death for the killing of a convenience store clerk in South Carolina, the first execution in the state in more than a decade.

After years of appeals came up short, 46-year-old Freddie Owens making a last-minute plea for clemency this week. His lawyer securing a sworn affidavit from a man who provided key testimony against Owens, but who now says he lied and Owens didn't kill Irene Graves, a mother of three who was shot in the head during a robbery of a speedway in 1997. Stephen Golden, 18 at the time of that shooting, now says he was high on drugs when police initially questioned him and prosecutors offered him a deal to flip on Owens, adding, quote, I was scared that I would get the death penalty if I didn't make a statement. It's remarkable in two days before a scheduled execution to have someone come forward

as Stephen Golden did. He did not want to see an innocent man die for something that he didn't do. Candidly, none of us should. Yet the state Supreme Court rejected those arguments from Owens' defense team, finding that newly recanted testimony from Golden insufficient without knowing more about how and why he signed it now. The high court also pointing to other evidence of Owens' guilt, including his multiple past confessions to killing Graves. Graves' son, Archie, who lost his mother just as he was starting his freshman year in college, told NBC News today, I'm just ready to close this chapter on this part of our lives. Laura Jarrett, NBC News. In Georgia, Vice President Harris today

attacking former President Trump on abortion rights as election officials in that key battleground state make a controversial change. Here's Gabe Gutierrez. Tonight, in-person early voting is already underway in three states, Virginia, South Dakota, and Minnesota. This is the most consequential vote in my lifetime. And now a new controversy over how ballots will be counted in Battleground, Georgia. The state's GOP-led election board voted to require counties to hand count all ballots cast on election day, a move critics say could delay the reporting of results. So what are we trying to do here? We're trying to sow chaos? Even though Georgia's Republican attorney general says the election board may be overstepping its

authority, Republican supporters say hand-counting is important for election integrity. Allowing our elected officials to have as much data as possible to make their decisions should ensure that they will certify. Vice President Harris traveling to Battleground, Georgia, highlighting abortion rights. This is a health care crisis crisis and Donald Trump is the architect of this crisis. Last night at a star-studded virtual rally hosted by Oprah Winfrey, relatives of a 28-year-old pregnant woman, Amber Thurman, blamed her death two years ago on delays in her care because of Georgia's restrictive abortion laws.

I want y'all to know Amber was not a statistic. Meanwhile, former President Trump arguing he should be getting more of the Jewish vote. If Kamala Harris wins instead of the most pro-Israel president ever, you will have the most anti-Israel president by far. Saying the Jewish community would be partly to blame if he's defeated. If I don't win this election, and the Jewish people would really have a lot to do with that if that happens. Both presidential campaigns now ramping up outreach to younger voters. Here in Battleground, Wisconsin, first-time voter Bradley Galvin tells us he thinks Trump will

improve the economy. I feel like he was one of the first politicians that kind of just says what he wants and doesn't try to pretend someone he's not. While Harris supporter, fourth-year med student Caitlin Landry, who wants to be an OBGYN, says abortion rights are critical. I am super excited about having someone who has a female perspective, a perspective of someone who is a minority. I think that's something that we need. Tonight, the vice president is rallying supporters here in Wisconsin, where polls show the race is a dead heat. Let's go. Gabe Gutierrez, thank you.

The Secret Service out with a new report admitting to failures leading up to the July assassination attempt on former President Trump. Our Kelly O'Donnell reports. New details tonight about what went so dangerously wrong. Major mistakes in planning and communications by the Secret Service that allowed a would-be assassin to shoot former President Trump firing from an unsecured rooftop in Butler, Pennsylvania. While some members of the advance team were very diligent, there was complacency on the part of others that led to a breach of security protocols. Today, the Secret Service released a portion of its internal review

calling the assassination attempt a security failure. The acting director says disciplinary action is coming. These employees will be held accountable. But with so many threats, the agency says more resources, technology and manpower are needed to keep up an intense pace of protection for the candidates. Will they have to live differently in order to be safe? We want them to make sure that they can live their lives with some type of normalcy, but they must do so with us providing the highest levels of protection, which we have been doing since July 13th. Want immediate change? To better coordinate plans and communications, the Secret Service says local agencies must be present inside the Federal Command Center at events. Lester?

All right, Kelly, thank you. A Kentucky sheriff is behind bars charged with shooting and killing a judge in his chambers. The two knew each other well, but as Adrian brought us reports, the motive is a mystery. A sheriff who vowed to protect and serve now on the other side of the law. One of your county courthouse shots fired. Police say Sheriff Sean Mickey Steins shot and killed Judge Kevin Mullins in his chamber Thursday. Investigators are searching for a motive. We know that it was an argument between the two that led up,

but what exactly transpired prior to the shots being fired is still things that we're trying to get answers to. The 54-year-old judge served for over a decade on the bench. In a word, patient is what he was and compassionate. Attorney Seth Combs is a longtime colleague of the judge. Big loss in a lot of ways. Honestly, just trying to accept that it's real. According to court documents, Sheriff Stines is listed as a defendant in a 2022 lawsuit where one of his deputies is accused of sexually abusing a woman in Judge Mullen's chambers. The lawsuit alleges Steins failed to, quote, adequately train and supervise

the deputy. Meanwhile, the sheriff turned suspect is behind bars tonight, leaving the tight knit community stunned. My heart goes out to the family, both of them. But this is shocking, really. And tonight, the sheriff, who has been charged with murder, has not hired an attorney. Lester? All right, Adrienne, thank you. Just ahead, progress on crushing medical debt after our recent report, what one major company has agreed to do for thousands of Americans across the country facing millions in debt. That's next. An update tonight to a story we brought you one week ago. We introduce you then to Terry Belk, one of the millions of Americans drowning in medical debt and facing grueling financial pain.

But now, as Christine Romans explains, a measure of relief for thousands. For Terry Belk in North Carolina, a new financial lease on life. It feels great because you know that the way to build wealth for most Americans is through their home. So for almost two decades, I had that taken from me. Belk has a lien on his home because of the $23,000 in medical debt he owes Atrium Health, despite having insurance, he began accruing the debt in 2003, when his wife Sandra was diagnosed with the breast cancer that would ultimately take her life. The hospital later sued again for Belk's own prostate cancer treatment. With interest, now a debt of $8,000. That all changed with a call

he received early this week, days after his story was featured on Nightly News. What did they say on the phone? Well, he said that I had been through a lot and that they're moving forward in a new direction as it relates to patient care and outcome, that they're going to be lifting liens and counseling judgments on all ex-patients. For Terry and thousands of others, Atrium's parent, Advocate Health, now announcing it is canceling all judgment liens previously placed on homes and real estate as part of its efforts to collect unpaid medical bills, and that it will also forgive the outstanding debts associated with those liens.

We are sick and tired of waiting. Rebecca Cerise is a health care advocate in North Carolina. What a weight off their shoulders that this is no longer an issue. So we're thrilled. We're excited. By the way, we're hoping other hospital systems follow suit to what Atrium has done. In all, Advocate Health says it is canceling more than 11,500 liens across six states, some, like Terry Belk's, dating back more than 20 years. Look at that lady. Whoa.

For our initial story on the $220 billion Americans owe in medical debt, Belk told us this. I'm sure I'm going to take this debt into the afterlife. Now he and thousands of others can breathe a sigh of relief. I'm sure that my wife in heaven is looking down on her suicide pleas because she knows that she did not leave a defeated, broken man here on earth to carry on. Well, Christine, first of all, thanks for doing this follow-up. Great news for Terry and potentially thousands of other people. But why now for this particular health care system?

Advocate Health says this was the next logical step in a process that began in 2022 with its leaders examining ways to improve access and the affordability of health care. All right, Christine, thanks. We're back in a moment with an NBC News exclusive. Could what's happening to pregnant mothers in one state be a warning for other states? We are back with an NBC News exclusive about the maternal mortality crisis unfolding in Texas and fears that the near total ban on abortion there could push pregnancy related deaths even higher. Zincley Esamua reports. What was your first pregnancy like?

It was just so textbook. But Caitlin Cash's subsequent pregnancies were anything but. In 2023, the 37-year-old from Texas almost died, giving birth to her healthy daughter. I just kept laying there thinking, I'm never going to name that baby. After her placenta failed to deliver, Caitlin says she continued bleeding and, according to her doctor, needed a DNC, which is often part of an abortion but can be necessary in other circumstances. Caitlin says she waited more than an hour for doctors to do the procedure, but her condition continued to deteriorate until she lost consciousness and needed a blood transfusion. She says the delay was later explained by a social worker. She just kind of goes, oh, yeah, we don't do DNCs anymore. Kaitlin nearly became part of an alarming trend. A new analysis of CDC data from the Gender Equity Policy Institute,

exclusive to NBC News, reveals Texas saw a 56 percent rise in maternal mortality between 2019 and 2022. That's compared to an 11% uptick nationwide. Every demographic went up, but the biggest increase was among white women, up 95%. Texas passed a near-total abortion ban back in 2021. Thirteen other states followed suit after the Dobbs decision. Is Texas a bit of a canary in the coal mine when it comes to this issue? We have to pay attention to the data coming out of Texas. Texas, I fear, is a harbinger of

what's to come. In Texas, abortions are still allowed to save a pregnant woman's life. You have practiced in women's health for over a decade. How does it feel for you working out of Texas now? Very different. Doctors, like Leah Tatum, are advised to use their best judgment. But if a court later rules they got it wrong, they risk losing their medical license, life in prison, or $100,000 in fines. Is it clear to you when you can perform an abortion and when you cannot? No. No, not really. So there is just this hesitancy that you can feel practicing in Texas.

The Cashes believe it's a systemic hesitancy that contributed to Caitlin's experience. I went into that delivery room with a doula and health insurance, and I'm white, and I have a master's degree of education. I went in with every privilege you could think of. And that still happened to me. Now, Caitlin advocates for abortion rights.

What do you feel when you look at your daughter? I feel deeply saddened and guilty about the future that I'm giving her. I get up every day and I tell these stories and I relive this trauma because I'm going to tell her that I did everything I could for her. Zinclea Samoa, NBC News, Austin, Texas. That's nightly news. Thank you for watching. I'm Lester Holt. Please take care of yourself and each other. Good night.