NBC Nightly News with Tom Llamas - Monday, March 4, 2024

Episode Date: March 5, 2024

The Supreme Court ruled that states cannot leave former President Trump off the primary ballot, another storm is hitting the West Coast after a blizzard dropped seven feet of snow, and an Air National Guardsman has pleaded guilty to leaking Pentagon secrets on a chat forum.

Tonight, the major ruling from the Supreme Court barring states from removing Donald Trump from the ballot. The justices in a unanimous decision restoring the former president to Colorado's ballot after the state kicked him off, citing the 14th Amendment, for his actions surrounding the January 6th attack. That ruling coming just hours before voters in Colorado and more than a dozen states head to the polls for the Super Tuesday primaries. Nikki Haley coming off her first primary victory, why she's also welcoming the Supreme Court's

decision. The new storm slamming the West Coast after that monster blizzard brought more than seven feet of snow. The Air National Guard's been pleading guilty to leaking the Pentagon secrets on a chat forum. How long he could spend in prison. Princess Kate spotted for the first time in public since her mystery hospitalization in

January. Nearly five months after the October 7th terror attack, the new U.N. report on allegations Hamas used sexual violence as a weapon. NBC News investigates the new technology that can spot fentanyl hidden in vehicles at the border. But why are millions of dollars worth of these scanners going unused? And it's one of the biggest aviation mysteries of all time. A decade after it vanished, will the search reopen for flight MH370? This is NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt. Good evening and welcome, everyone. The U.S. Supreme Court spoke with one voice today and with relative urgency as it ruled on a key question

hovering over the presidential race. Tonight on the eve of Super Tuesday primaries and caucuses, the court unanimously rejecting Colorado's effort to disqualify Donald Trump from appearing on the state's primary election ballot, reversing Colorado's high court, which ruled on constitutional grounds that Mr. Trump could not serve as president again because he had been part of an insurrection. But today, the U.S. Supreme Court ruling states have no right to make that call. It's a major victory for Mr. Trump, not only in Colorado, which holds its primary tomorrow, but two other states that had also moved to strike him from the ballot. We start our reporting tonight with Laura Jarrett.

Tonight, the U.S. Supreme Court dealing a final blow to states trying to ban former President Trump from the ballot. In a unanimous decision, the justices effectively leaving it up to voters to decide if the former president returns to the White House. Mr. Trump praising today's ruling. The voters can take the person out of the race very quickly, but a court shouldn't be doing that. The justice is rejecting a Colorado state court's ruling finding Mr. Trump ineligible to be president under Section 3 of the 14th Amendment, a largely untested clause of the Constitution passed after the Civil War, disqualifying those who engage in insurrection from holding public office again.

An elections official in Maine and a judge in Illinois later doing the same, banning the Republican frontrunner from the ballot in those states in light of his actions on January 6th. Today's ruling from the high court now ending all similar efforts to disqualify Mr. Trump from the ballot. Well, most states were thrilled to have me. There were some that didn't and they didn't want that for political reasons. The justices today saying that patchwork of different rulings across the country cannot stand, finding responsibility for enforcing Section 3 against federal officeholders and candidates rests with Congress and not the states. But at the same time, the three liberal justices accusing their

conservative colleagues of going too far by ruling Congress must enact new legislation in order to ban a presidential candidate, writing this ruling will make it harder to bar an oath-breaking insurrectionist from becoming president. Conservative Justice Barrett cautioning this court should turn the national temperature down, not up. And Laura, the court didn't really adjust the question of what happened on January 6th and Mr. Trump's actions, which was really behind these moves to kick him off the ballot. But that's still going to come up. Yes, Lester, the justices didn't have to confront that issue today,

but must take it head on when they decide if Mr. Trump should be immune from prosecution in the special counsel's January 6th case. They hear that case next month. All right, Laura Jarrett, thank you. Today's big Supreme Court victory for former President Trump coming just hours before Super Tuesday, when voters will cast their primary ballots in 16 states and a territory. Will it be a last stand for Nikki Haley? Our Garrett Haig is in Florida tonight. On the eve of Super Tuesday, Republican frontrunner Donald Trump, insisting legal efforts against him are giving him a big boost. The polls show that I'm much more popular than I was. It's been nonsense cases and everybody sees it.

With just hours to go before polls open on the biggest single day of the Republican primary, Mr. Trump's last remaining challenger also welcoming the high court's ruling. This is America. Look, I'll defeat Donald Trump fair and square, but I want him on that ballot. Republican voters in 15 states casting ballots tomorrow, with more than 800 delegates at stake, many in winner-take-all states, where the former president is likely to claim key victories. New polling shows him leading President Biden in a head-to-head matchup within the margin of error. Both men unpopular, but unlike 2020,

polls showing more Americans now have an unfavorable view of Mr. Biden than of Mr. Trump. While in Colorado, which holds its primary tomorrow with former President Trump on the ballot, both Trump supporters and detractors shrugged off the Supreme Court's ruling today. Trump staying on the ballot is good because, you know, he has a tough hit. My biggest thing about President Trump is I think he's a terrible example on how to treat people, but I don't like the idea of people, of the government saying someone can't run. Over the weekend, Haley suggesting she may back off her pledge to endorse the party nominee, even if Mr. Trump sweeps all of tomorrow's contests. Lester.

All right, Garrett, thanks. And tomorrow, join me and Savannah Guthrie for live results and analysis of Super Tuesday. It all starts tomorrow across the platforms of NBC News. A Massachusetts Air National Guardsman pleaded guilty today to leaking military secrets and just breaking tonight another alleged leak of classified intelligence by someone working inside the U.S. military. Courtney Kuby is at the Pentagon tonight. Courtney, what are you learning? Well, David Franklin Slater worked as a civilian at U.S. Strategic Command in Nebraska until April 2022. According to the indictment, he was arrested Saturday for allegedly sharing classified information through a foreign online dating website. Slater held a top-secret security clearance and attended sensitive briefing

regarding Russia's war against Ukraine. And also today, a Massachusetts Air National Guardsman pled guilty to leaking sensitive national security secrets, including highly classified military documents also about the war in Ukraine. Under a plea agreement, Jack to sheriff faces 11 to 17 years in prison. A federal judge scheduled sentencing for September. Lester. Courtney Kuby at the Pentagon. Thank you. Tonight, the Biden administration is turning up the pressure on Israel and Hamas to agree on a ceasefire in Gaza as the toll among civilians only grows. Raf Sanchez has the latest. Let me warn you that some of what you're going to see in this report is quite upsetting.

Tonight, the war in Gaza rages on despite a new and urgent U.S. push for a ceasefire. We're in a window of time right now where we can actually get a hostage deal done. Vice President Harris today meeting a senior member of Israel's war cabinet at the White House. The meeting one day after she delivered some of the administration's most forceful criticism of Israel yet. The Israeli government must do more to significantly increase the flow of aid. No excuses. The U.S. hoping to secure a deal before the start of Ramadan this weekend. A proposed six-week ceasefire would see the release of 40 hostages in exchange for around 400 Palestinian prisoners. An Israeli official tells NBC News one major obstacle to talks in Cairo is Hamas's refusal to say which hostages

are still alive. Over the weekend, the U.S. military dropping 38,000 ready meals into Gaza by parachute and promising to do more. But the Abu Anza family, who tell us their home was destroyed by an Israeli strike, say what they need is not aid from the sky, but U.S. pressure to halt the bombing. 19 people were killed, the family says, including Rania's husband and her twins, Wissam and Naeem. They were born October 13th, one week into the war, a blessing after years of IVF treatment and never knowing a day of peace in their short lives. Who will call me mama now, she asks. Who will call me mama now? And a new U.N. report says evidence indicates Hamas fighters committed rape at at least three locations during the October 7th attack and says there is clear and convincing information that some hostages in Gaza have been subjected to sexual violence while in captivity. Lester. These are not easy stories to tell.

All right, Raf, thank you. In the Sierra Mountains tonight, another storm is poised to dump as much as two more feet of snow in a region buried by it over the weekend. Our Steve Patterson is there tonight. Steve, good evening. Lester, after more than 72 hours of nonstop snowfall, finally there was a break today allowing officials to clear the road and open a major interstate, but that was before this new snow from a new system started falling. Tonight, an entire region digging out in the aftermath of around-the-clock winter weather thrashing. We woke up to a lot of snow yesterday, and it never let up. This weekend, the storm of the season unleashed a life-threatening assault on the Mountain West, dumping 5 to 10 feet of snow across the region

and spawning blinding, white-out conditions on the roads. It kind of felt like we were swimming through the snow almost. Just south of Lake Tahoe, several cars temporarily trapped when an avalanche crashed on the road. Thankfully, no one injured. The region's major thoroughfare, Interstate 80, shut down for days. A perilous mix of wind and snow stranding drivers for hours. The road finally reopening today. The blizzard bringing snow totals to more than

seven feet in several communities, with winds gusting up to 190 miles per hour in the highest peaks. It was full on. It was definitely some pretty intense periods of whiteout conditions. Today, relief. Blizzard warnings lifted for the first time since last week. This really turned out to be a storm. We were all kind of laughing, and we were like, eh, it's snow, we've got this.

And then snowmageddon. Snowmageddon did come. The storm moving out, allowing residents to catch their breath ahead of a few more inches of snow predicted right around the corner. Steve Patterson, NBC News, Truckee, California. And now the contrast to Texas, where yet another wildfire tore across the state's panhandle over the weekend. In the last week, more than one million acres have burned, hundreds of homes have been lost, and two people have died. Morgan Chesky is there. In Texas, frustration over more than a million scorched acres only matching fatigue from another

firefight. Flames charging the town of Sanford late Sunday where crews fought a familiar battle. Some pulled from fires elsewhere to make sure this community stayed home. We're not used to the conditions having lined up like they did this week with the high winds and the low humidity for such a long event. It was all just lined up to be the perfect storm. Burn scars now visible from space. These satellite images showing the city of Fritch before the wildfires. Now, blackened earth. Authorities say the cause of the fire is under investigation, but a new lawsuit alleges Xcel Energy, a utility company,

is to blame for the smokehouse fire. The suit stating a wooden pole Xcel Energy failed to properly inspect snapped off at its base, adding powered utility lines hit the ground, igniting a fire. Xcel tells NBC News they are cooperating with the ongoing investigation. Back in hard-hit Canadian Texas, the loss of land and livestock crushing. Ranchers shipping out surviving cattle or trucking in hay until they can find a temporary home for the herd. We're going to have lost probably 200 to 250 head. I've spent the last 15 years building this cow herd up and you can lose it overnight. And tonight with this more than million acre blaze, just 15 percent contained, firefighters finally getting help from a cold

front. But everyone's hoping for rain forecast later this week. Lester. Morgan Chesky in Texas tonight. Thanks. We'll take a break, and in 60 seconds, the Princess of Wales seen for the first time since her abdominal surgery earlier this year and her prolonged absence from public life. Late details coming up after this. It's been nearly two months since Princess Kate underwent surgery in the UK, and since that mystery hospitalization, she hasn't been seen in public until today. Here's Stephanie Gosk. The picture is grainy, but appears to be the Princess of Wales in sunglasses being driven by her mother. The photo agency that owns the image says it was taken near Windsor Castle, where a royal spokesperson says the Princess of Wales is recuperating from abdominal surgery.

The 42-year-old mother of three hasn't been seen in public in months, not since Christmas Day with her family. In January, Kensington Palace announced she had been admitted to a London hospital for planned abdominal surgery. A spokesperson later adding that the surgery was successful and that Kate did not have cancer. Just under two weeks later, she returned home and was making good progress, according to the palace, but would not be attending public events until after Easter. With little information being released, social media buzzed with conspiracies, some about the seriousness of her condition. The rumors were fueled last week when Prince William made a last-minute decision not to attend a memorial service for his godfather, citing a personal matter.

The palace issued another statement the princess was doing well, and adding that it made clear in January the timelines of the princess's recovery, and we'd only be providing significant updates. The palace declined to comment on today's photo. Adding to the health concerns for the royal family is King Charles' unspecified cancer diagnosis. But tonight, an image that may provide some solace to those wishing a princess a speedy recovery. Stephanie Gosk, NBC News. And coming up as we continue tonight, the new technology to crack down on deadly fentanyl

pouring into this country. But why is it sitting unused? Our investigation next. Back now with our NBC News investigation into the fight against fentanyl at the southern border. Authorities there have new advanced scanners that can detect fentanyl in vehicles. But we've learned millions of dollars worth of these scanners are sitting unused. Here's Julia Ainsley. Tonight, we're on the front lines of the fentanyl crisis. Nogales, Arizona. Half of all fentanyl seized coming in from Mexico is stopped here. But critics say the Biden administration is not doing enough. With fentanyl overdoses now the leading cause of death for Americans aged 18 to 45. Acting CBP Commissioner Troy Miller tells us virtually all fentanyl is brought across in vehicles.

It's driven by men, women, young, old, U.S. citizens, Mexican citizens. And he tells us border agents have begun using a new technology to identify fentanyl hidden in vehicles. We watch as officers first question drivers and inspect cars. Then they may be referred for a scan. This is new technology that's been installed to x-ray cars that officers suspect might be carrying narcotics. It's been installed here in Nogales because it's considered the ground zero for fentanyl trafficking. But less than 5% of personal vehicles and 20% of commercial vehicles coming into the U.S. are actually scanned. With more new technology, Miller wants to bring those numbers up to 40% of cars and 70% of commercial trucks, but not for another two years.

Why not scan every vehicle through an x-ray? We see a million people crossing our border every single day. If we tried to scan every single shipment and person coming into this country, we would shut down legitimate trade and travel. And tonight, we've learned millions of dollars of taxpayer-purchased fentanyl scanners are sitting in warehouses, unused. We need approximately $300 million for civil works to actually put the technology in the ground. And it's money you've already spent, but it's sitting there. Is that frustrating for you? Very frustrating. It's extremely frustrating. But in Tucson, Teresa Guerrero is demanding authorities do much more.

Every year, enough fentanyl is trafficked into the U.S. to kill every American. I think the border needs to be closed, to be honest with you, because we're a superhighway. I mean, look how close, you saw how close today that we are. And they're just pouring in. This is, I believe, our last picture together. Guerrero lost her son Jacob four years ago, when cocaine he ingested was secretly laced with fentanyl. She says Jacob was athletic, a free spirit, and always ready to help his friends. If only, if only, you always ask those questions, but I don't want another parent to have to say if only. Tonight, the Biden administration is calling on Congress for more money so they can start using those currently unused scanners. Lester.

Julia Ainslie, thank you. Up next for us tonight, the mystery of flight MH370, 10 years after it disappeared inside the renewed push to find the missing airplane. Finally, it's one of the world's greatest aviation mysteries. What happened to Malaysia Airlines Flight 370? Now nearly 10 years since that plane vanished, the search may be back on. Tom Costello explains why. In the vastness of the southern Indian Ocean, another all-out search may soon begin for Malaysia Airlines Flight 370. After first searching in 2018, American company Ocean Infinity says it wants to try again, using autonomous drones to find the plane and the 239 people on board. The prime minister of Malaysia says he's open to a new search, with Ocean Infinity only getting paid if it finds the plane.

Whatever needs to be done must be done. It was on March 8, 2014, that the Boeing 777 disappeared on the red-eye from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing. Radar and satellite data suggested the plane made a mysterious U-turn, flew back over Malaysia, and eventually headed towards the southern Indian Ocean, the search zone 1,500 miles south of Australia. The leading theory is that one of the pilots hijacked the plane, flying it into the ocean. While small pieces of the plane have washed ashore, experts believe the plane itself could be miles underwater. It's what we wanted to hear.

In Malaysia, talk of a new search brought relief to families gathered to mark 10 years. Sarah Banczyk lost her boyfriend, Philip Wood. She has since married and runs a resort in Panama. I don't know if it was intentional or accidental, but errors had to have occurred for this to happen, right? One day, there'll be someone will come forward and tell us what's really going on. The truth. That's all we want until we're longing for that. Yeah, until the day. Ocean Infinity says it has been innovating and enhancing its technology and its robotics, analyzing MH370's flight data to try to once again narrow down the potential crash zone

for a new surge. Lester? All right, Tom, thank you. That's nightly news for this Monday. Thank you for watching. I'm Lester Holt. Please take care of yourself and each other. Good night.