NBC Nightly News with Tom Llamas - Monday, July 8, 2024

Episode Date: July 9, 2024

Beryl lashes Texas, bringing high winds, heavy rain and flooding; Biden vows to stay in race amid growing calls to drop out; Study finds that some weight loss drugs help people lose more weight than others; and more on tonight’s broadcast.

Tonight, Hurricane Beryl making a direct hit on the Texas coast, knocking out power to nearly 3 million homes and businesses. Beryl slamming ashore is a Category 1 storm with 80 mph winds. At least four are dead, homes destroyed, neighborhoods underwater. In Houston, nearly a foot of rain flooding highways. The dramatic rescue, a man stranded on top of his truck pulled to safety. Our team in the storm zone and the dangerous heat wave, 136 million under alerts tonight. Also this evening, President Biden vowing I'm not going anywhere as calls grow for him to drop out. Mr. Biden daring dissatisfied Democrats to challenge him at the convention. It comes as White House logs reveal an expert on Parkinson's

visited the White House eight times in eight months, including a meeting with the president's personal physician. The White House saying it can't confirm why he was there. The United plane losing a tire during takeoff at LAX, what the airline says happened. Boeing agreeing to plead guilty to a felony over two deadly 737 MAX crashes. Victims' families now slamming the deal. Comparing popular weight loss drugs, which is most effective?

The new study. And three days that defined a generation. More than half a century later, the nationwide effort to collect memories of Woodstock. This is NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt. Good evening and welcome. It has lost its status and a lot of its punch, but what is now Tropical Storm Beryl is leaving a deadly and tattered trail tonight as the former hurricane now powers its way from Texas and on into the center of the country. The storm, which forecasters have been tracking for nearly two weeks, was intensifying right up until making landfall in Texas as a Category 1 hurricane, contributing to the extensive damage on land,

where it killed at least four people, cut off power to millions of homes and businesses, and dumped massive amounts of rain, afoot, inundating highways in Houston. The danger is not over tonight, as the remnants of Beryl are raising the risk of tornadoes. Kathy Park is in Texas with a late update on the deadly storm. Tonight, Texas taking a direct hit from Beryl, flashing the coastline with punishing winds and waves as a Category 1 hurricane. Communities completely underwater, while the force of the storm tore up entire homes. A tornado even reported in Jasper. Howling winds, people's houses flying by your house, roofs ripped off.

Priscilla Thompson spoke with one family in Wharton who got out just in time. This massive tree came crashing into this home. The couple inside telling me they just narrowly escaped. We're in the living room and we moved away. That's where all the spiked wood came down from the ceiling, so we probably would have been killed. As the storm moved farther inland, barrels showed no signs of slowing as conditions quickly deteriorated, with rainfall totals close to a foot in Houston. The flooding is getting so bad. It is shutting off the interstate in both directions. Some vehicles are trying to make it through. Other vehicles are getting stuck, but most cars are actually stuck and actually turning around and going back the wrong way.

Cameras were rolling as this man was saved on another Houston highway. I think people are urgent to get somewhere, not realizing that if they drive through, they're going to be in a much worse situation. With wind gusts nearing 90 miles per hour, trees toppled onto homes. At least four Texans have died. Emergency and rescue crews in many communities, including Houston, racing to get people to safety. We're literally getting calls across Houston right now asking for first responders to come rescue individuals in desperate life safety conditions. The deadly storm now heading toward Arkansas, leaving behind a devastating path of destruction. And Kathy is in Houston now for us. How are the conditions there right now? Well, Lester, as you can see, there's still a lot of damage that we are tracking. The water,

though, is receding pretty quickly. At one point, this road was completely underwater. Meanwhile, a lingering issue that we continue to follow are those widespread power outages. At the height of the storm, more than 2 million customers without power. And it could be days before everyone is back online. Lester? All right, Kathy Park, thank you. Let's bring in Bill Cairns. He's been tracking barrel and that oppressive heat.

Barrel is not done making trouble. Yeah, quite a punch for only a Category 1. We started worried about storm surge and rainfall. Now we're worried about more tornadoes as the winds have come down and that heavy rain is heading for Oklahoma, Missouri and Arkansas overnight. These tornado watches have been incredible. We've had numerous tornado warnings all afternoon long, at least six confirmed tornadoes. And that threat will continue to midnight up into areas of Arkansas. And then when we talk about the heat, this is nonstop. It won't end in areas of the West. We have heat advisories up for the East.

It's more the humidity in the East. You can feel it in the air. Tomorrow, it will feel like 104 in D.C., 108 in Charleston. You get the idea on the East Coast, and that's not going to change anytime soon. In the West, where this past weekend we had numerous all-time record highs, we're going to see by the end of this week, Lester, the hottest week ever recorded for Redding, Fresno, and Vegas. All right, Bill Cairns, thanks. And that dangerous heat is taking a toll in New York. A major bridge stuck open due to overheating while on the West Coast. Heat is

suspected in the deaths of at least four people in the Portland, Oregon area. The scorching temperatures fueling wildfires in California, including a 20,000 acre inferno. And Las Vegas hitting a record 120 degrees on Sunday. Let's turn to the Biden campaign with both the president and first lady saying again today that Mr. Biden will stay in the race. It comes as we learn that a Parkinson's specialist has been to the White House multiple times. Kelly O'Donnell has more. The message from President Biden today, the debate over his debate, is over. I am not going anywhere.

The president says he has now assessed the country's mood after visiting voters across battleground states. Today, he phoned into MSNBC's Morning Joe. I wanted to make sure I was right, that the average voter out there still wanted Joe Biden. And I'm confident they do. The First Lady amplifying his message in three states. For all the talk out there about this race, Joe has made it clear that he's all in. And to Democrats on Capitol Hill, the president sent more than 1,200 words

to get on board. Any weakening of resolve only helps Trump and hurts us. Nine Democrats in Congress have now called on Mr. Biden to drop out, including Adam Smith. I think he should step aside. I think it's become clear that he's not the best person to carry the Democratic message. Tonight, new questions surround why a Parkinson's specialist has visited the White House eight times in eight months, according to visitor logs. One visit indicated a meeting with the president's doctor. Questioning during today's briefing grew tense. Has the president been treated for Parkinson's? No. Is he being treated for Parkinson's? No, he's not. Is he taking medication for Parkinson's? No. NBC News has reached out to the specialist who has not responded. The White House would not discuss why he visited, citing security and noting the medical unit also cares for military staff here. But regarding the president,

the press secretary said definitively he has only been checked by a neurologist during his formal annual exam. He has seen a neurologist three times, three times, not more, not more here, not more than that, not more than that. While Mr. Biden is under increased scrutiny, he noted that former President Trump has been laying low. He hasn't done a damn thing since the debate. He's been riding around in a golf cart for 10 days. Tonight, ahead of next week's Republican convention, unveiling the party platform,

which mirrors Mr. Trump's positions on immigration and reproductive rights. Notably, it does not call for a federal ban on abortions. And Kelly, the president trying to calm critics as he's headed into a major week on abortions. And Kelly, the president trying to calm critics as he's headed into a major week on foreign policy. Very much so. Tomorrow, he welcomes 38 world leaders to Washington for the NATO summit here with one-on-one meetings and a press conference Thursday, and then hits the road to Michigan Friday and to Texas and Nevada next week. Lester. Kelly O'Donnell, thank you. The president is blasting those in his own party who want him to step aside,

saying he believes he still has the support of voters. But what is the mood in key battleground states? Here's Hallie Jackson. The Biden campaign. Tonight, arguing what really matters won't come from the beltway, but the Rust Belt and beyond. When he says he's in and he's running, I believe him and I believe he's in and he's running,

I believe him and I believe he's going to do a good job. I'm still feeling good about Joe Biden. There is no other alternative. I think Joe Biden, you know, if he is slower these days, at least he's honest. His campaign pointing to support on the ground with one senior advisor telling NBC News their grassroots fundraising saw its best start to any month this month post-debate.

I'm getting so frustrated by the elites in the party who they know so much more. If any of these guys don't think I should let them run against me. But while new polling shows the race still very close, it's former President Trump leading narrowly in five of seven key battlegrounds, mostly inside the margin of error. And in Pennsylvania, Mr. Trump has a slightly larger lead after the president flipped that state four years ago. They just don't think that we can deal with his health and it's no fault of his own. I don't want him up there if he's not confident. The Trump campaign has sought to make inroads with black voters, by no means a monolith, but the coalition that helped propel President Biden to the White House four years ago may be the same one that helps keep him on the ticket now.

I will stand with the president at this point in time and just see. Black voters and union workers critical to the Democratic base. The head of the influential Congressional Black Caucus today rallying behind the president, who's set to meet with members of the group virtually tonight, according to multiple sources. That's after visiting a black church in Philadelphia on Sunday and a union office in Harrisburg next week, set to head to the NAACP convention. If you look at those constituencies, they're doubling down in their effort to elect Joe Biden and Kamala Harris. Do you think that will be enough to keep the president on this ticket? The president said he's not going anywhere.

The president's decision now, the voters decision in November. Hallie Jackson, NBC News. In Ukraine, more than 30 people are reported dead after a barrage of Russian missiles hit Kiev and other cities. A children's hospital and apartment building were struck in the capital, where 10 people were killed, including two hospital workers. Three children were injured. The war is expected to be a key focus at this week's NATO summit. Boeing has agreed to plea deal with the government related to two high-profile fatal MAX 8 plane crashes,

but many victims' families say they feel let down. Here's Tom Costello. Today's guilty plea comes more than five years after 346 people died in two Boeing MAX 8 crashes overseas. Boeing now admits it's committed a felony, misleading FAA regulators about new cockpit software that eventually brought both planes down. Family attorneys say the plea isn't enough. Victim families feel like Boeing is getting off easy. Under the plea agreement, Boeing must pay another $244 million fine, bringing the total to $487 million, and spend $455 million to strengthen compliance and safety programs. An independent monitor will oversee Boeing's compliance.

Boeing avoided prosecution in 2021 by agreeing to improve quality control and report truthfully to the FAA. But after the mid-air door plug blowout in January, prosecutors accused Boeing of violating that agreement. Today, Boeing said, we have reached an agreement in principle on terms of a resolution with the Justice Department. CEO Dave Calhoun on Capitol Hill last month. We have tried to look at literally everything we do to make certain that that can never happen again. Nadia Milleron lost her 24-year-old daughter Samia in the Ethiopian crash.

We have a perpetrator that killed 346 people, and they have to be accountable for those deaths. Complicating the plea, companies convicted of felonies can be barred from defense contracts. But Boeing is a critical defense and space contractor and could require a waiver. A Texas judge will decide whether to accept or reject the deal. And Tom, while we have you, we're learning of another plane that lost a tire on takeoff today. Yeah, this was a United flight from LAX to Denver. The pilot of another plane reported a tire had dropped off that United 757. The plane flew on to Denver and landed safely. The FAA stepped up oversight of United's

maintenance earlier this year after that tire fell off the landing gear of a plane headed for Japan, and then another United flight skidded off the runway while landing in Houston. United says it is investigating what happened today. Lester? All right, Tom Costello, thank you. In 60 seconds, the sea change in drugs helping people lose weight. The revealing new study is showing which ones are most effective. There are some of the most in-demand medications in the market right now, weight loss medications like Ozempic and Manjaro. But which one is most effective? Stephanie Goss joins me. Stephanie, there's some new research out on this.

Yeah, there is, Lester. This is one of the first studies to compare the two active ingredients found in those popular weight loss and diabetes drugs. After 12 months, patients taking Ozempic or Wegovy lost 8.3 percent of their body weight, while patients taking Monjaro or Zepound lost 15.3 percent. There was no difference in the risk of serious side effects. Now, the results do not mean one is better than the other. Doctors say both active ingredients are effective for weight loss and which one is prescribed depends on the needs of the patient. Now, this study comes on the heels of research showing this whole class of drugs called GLP-1s may reduce the risk of obesity-related

cancers like colon cancer and liver cancer. All right, Stephanie Goss, thank you. Up next for us as we continue tonight, what happens when there's too much solar power being produced? The unexpected consequences, next. Solar power has been hailed as clean, renewable, and abundant. But why is California throwing so much of it away? Liz Kreutz now on the controversial impact it's having on homeowners and jobs.

Across California, it's a common sight. Rows of suburban homes topped with solar panels. But as the state works towards its ambitious clean energy vision, an almost counterintuitive problem has emerged. California is at times generating too much solar, meaning loads of good clean energy is going to waste. Since solar power relies on the sun, it's often the middle of the day on days when it's not too hot that you can run into this issue of essentially having too much solar. People aren't home, they're not running their ACs, and the system can generate more than the state can use. This imbalance has been dubbed the duck curve. It's belly, the time of day when solar production

can exceed demand. So that's the duck curve? That's the duck curve. Yeah, there it is. Inside California's independent grid operator, CEO Elliot Mainzer, showed us how they manage the state's electricity in real time. There is solar energy right now that's essentially being thrown away. You know, the bottom line is that there are times when we do not have the demand for electricity for the full production of the solar fleet. Sometimes we're able to export it. And there are those times under certain extreme conditions when we do have to curtail it. When you say curtail, you mean throwing it away? We say sending dispatch instructions to those fleets to reduce their generation. Yes.

In recent years, the amount of renewable energy curtailed, most of it solar, has skyrocketed, both from oversupply and so-called congestion, when there's more electricity than the transmission lines in some areas can handle. So far this year, the state has already lost out on nearly 2.6 million megawatt hours of renewable electricity, more than enough to power all the households in San Francisco for a year. To solve the problem, Governor Gavin Newsom's administration has been pushing to add more batteries to store that excess energy. And state regulators have taken a more controversial approach, drastically cutting financial incentives for homeowners looking to install solar.

Before, we used to have people clamoring to put solar on. Ed Murray, who operates Aztec Solar outside Sacramento, says the impact has been devastating for his business. He's laid off 10 employees over the last year. We were left figuring out what do we do now? Since the changes, there's been a 66 percent drop in residential solar installations and an estimated 17,000 green jobs lost statewide. To make it cost effective, homeowners now need to install batteries in addition to solar panels. But that can cost an additional $10,000 to $20,000 or more. In a statement, Governor Newsom defended the state's policies, saying in part,

no other state in America comes close to California's solar production. And now we're adding more batteries faster than ever to help capture that energy to use at night. Do you think California will be able to meet its 2045 clean energy goal? Absolutely not. No way we're going to get there without rooftop solar. New challenges casting a shadow on the path to a renewable future. Liz Kreutz, NBC News, Folsom, California. And coming up, the unforgettable sound of the summer of 69, the race to preserve one of the greatest concert in history before its loss forever in a purple haze. It was just three days, but for those who were there, Woodstock was the experience of a lifetime.

Now, with many in their 70s and 80s, a major effort is underway to capture their memories. Here's Anne Thompson. The Giza sisters' Woodstock memories are as vivid as their tie-dye shirts. 55 years later, what resonates about that weekend? I think the feeling, and I wish I could bottle it. It was just fantastic to see all those bands. The event captured then in an Oscar-winning documentary. Now the Gies' and hundreds of other festival goers are reliving those days for history. Recorded by the Bethelwood Center of the Arts.

Is there a thread through these memories? There's two threads, right? One thread is Santana was amazing. And what people experienced over the three days was sharing and caring to have hope for the rest of their lives that peace is possible. 20 and 16 in the summer of 1969, Christina and Wanda lived in Grafton, Massachusetts. Did you tell your parents you were going to Woodstock? No. We didn't tell anybody.

I know. Nobody. No, they thought we were going down the Cape. A destination that would become national news. More than 350,000 people. Jim and Mary Boone were newlyweds. I graduated on a Sunday, and I had my draft notice on Monday. His Army physical got delayed by an impromptu holiday to celebrate the moon landing.

So Mary bought $7 tickets to Woodstock. We almost couldn't see it, but the sound system was fabulous. Galvanized, Jim says, by an anti-Vietnam War anthem. For the first time, that huge group of people unified into one group, all singing the same song. Though skinny dipping drug use and rain got attention, what they remember are days of peace and community. If someone in a hundred years listens to your histories, what do you hope they take away? God, those people were cool. Cool then and now. Ann Thompson, NBC News. And that is nightly news for this Monday. Thank you for watching. I'm Lester Holt. Please take care of yourself and each other. Good night.