NBC Nightly News with Tom Llamas - Monday, September 23, 2024

Episode Date: September 24, 2024

Hundreds killed in Israeli airstrikes, Lebanese officials say; Iran's new vice president says Iran does not want a wider war; New details revealed in alleged Trump assassination plot; and more on tonight’s broadcast.

Tonight, the escalating conflict, the deadliest day of Israeli strikes in Lebanon in nearly two decades. Israel saying it launched strikes on more than a thousand targets in Lebanon linked to Iran-backed Hezbollah. Lebanese health officials saying nearly 500 people were killed. Now more U.S. troops are deploying to the region. It comes as the high-stakes U.N. gathering kicks off in New York. Iran's new vice president speaking out in his first U.S. interview. What he told us about a potential for a wider war in the Middle East. Also tonight, the tropical threat expected to strengthen into Hurricane Helene,

targeting the Gulf Coast. A state of emergency in Florida. We're tracking it. The suspect in the second attempt to kill former President Trump in court. The new evidence, including a letter prosecutors say he left months ago, saying, quote, this was an assassination attempt and how long they say he was casing the golf course to carry out his plot. Our latest NBC News national poll, Kamala Harris now leading within the margin of error, but Donald Trump showing strength in the Sun Belt. The manhunt in Alabama after a mass shooting left four dead. Was it part of a murder-for-hire plot?

And the massive reward? And the brave mob and the hundreds coming from all over to give her the ultimate gift? This is NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt. Good evening and welcome. Some of the worst fears of a broader Mideast conflict are being realized tonight along the Israel-Lebanon border. Israel tonight expanding its assault on Hezbollah inside Lebanon. Its warplanes and artillery striking suspected Hezbollah positions across a widening stretch of the country. Targeting, it says, Hezbollah's weapons and warning Lebanese civilians to evacuate from Hezbollah areas.

Lebanese health officials tonight reporting close to 500 dead from the attacks and over 1,000 injured. For its part, Hezbollah still firing rockets and drones into northern Israel, a tit-for-tat exchange of fire that began a year ago following the October 7th Hamas attack in Israel, now bleeding over into sustained and open conflict. Prime Minister Netanyahu vowing, whoever tries to hurt us, we will hurt him even more. The Pentagon is making its own moves, reacting to all of this. Richard Engel joining us now from Israel. Richard, this was a day of very dramatic developments. Lester, Israel has been fighting in Gaza for nearly a year, and now this dramatic expansion

in Lebanon. It is all clearly putting the U.S. on edge, the Pentagon sending a small number of reinforcements to the region, quote, out of an abundance of caution. Israel is expanding its war in Lebanon, and the target is Hezbollah. The Iranian-backed militia has been carrying out attacks against northern Israel in solidarity with Hamas after October 7th. But Hezbollah has tens of thousands of rockets, drones and missiles, and Israel has begun to take them out in the hundreds. Israel saying many weapons are stored inside homes, warning civilians to evacuate. I have a message for the people of Lebanon. Israel's war is not with you. It's with Hezbollah. To defend our people against Hezbollah strikes, we must take out those weapons. Lebanon's health ministry said around 500 people were killed by Israeli strikes today, including children. NBC's Matt Bradley is there. This

hospital is already taking in injuries. They've been waiting for this for a better part of a year. Now they're expecting hundreds of trauma cases from all over the country. Israel is far better prepared. Today, the director of Israel's biggest hospital in Haifa showed me how every patient is being moved to a fortified hospital underground. You're using it for real, for the first time. It's unfortunate. This is not a healing environment. On the other hand, this allows us to continue to give medical care.

Hezbollah suffered a major blow last week when thousands of its members' pagers and walkie-talkies exploded. Israel has hinted at it, but not claimed responsibility. Nonetheless, the group is still able to fire. A Hezbollah rocket hit these homes, causing extensive damage, and now Israel is bracing for an escalation, ordering all schools across northern Israel closed and declaring this entire area a no-fly zone. A new front has opened tonight between Israel and Hezbollah. It may be very difficult to close. Richard Engel, NBC News, Haifa. This dramatic escalation and a new focus on Iran coming as the U.N. General Assembly kicked off today here in New York. Andrea Mitchell spoke with Iran's new vice president in his first interview.

With Israel and Hezbollah exchanging airstrikes, Israel exploding pagers in Lebanon, according to U.S. officials, Iran's new leaders today accusing Israel of trying to trap them into a wider war. In his first U.S. interview, the new vice president, Javad Zarif, tells me Iran does not want that. JAVAD ZARIF, U.S. Vice President of the United States of America, We want to move in a more peaceful, more stable world. We don't seek war, but we will defend ourselves.

A real provocation to Iran, the assassination of Hamas's political leader in Tehran, as Iran was inaugurating its new president, which U.S. officials say was done by Israel. That was clearly an act of state terrorism and a clear violation of our sovereignty and our territorial integrity. We were asked by the international community to exercise restraint in order to bring about an end to the war in Gaza. Unfortunately, that promise has never materialized. You won't rule

out retaliating. No, we have said that we will respond in a manner of our choosing. Zarif was the key negotiator of the 2015 nuclear deal, which President Trump pulled out of in 2018. With no more restraints, the U.S. says Iran is now one or two weeks from having enough nuclear fuel for a bomb. It was the miscalculation of the Trump administration that withdrew from the nuclear deal. It has been a lose-lose situation. It's unlikely the administration would restart nuclear talks this close to an election. And with 100 world leaders here guarded by the Secret Service, the agency, though challenged, says the city is safe, Lester. All right, Andrew, good to see you. Thanks. Well, turn out of the

tropical threat we're tracking in the Caribbean tonight, expected to strengthen into Hurricane Helene before making landfall on the Gulf Coast this week. Bill Cairns is here. Bill, walk us through this one. Lester, all signs point to a major hurricane making landfall in Florida three days from right now. That's not a lot of prep and not a lot of lead time. This storm is now in the stages of forming. It's going to be over extremely warm water. We expect this storm to explode in intensity once it gets into the Gulf, especially Wednesday, Wednesday night into Thursday morning. Then a landfall as we go through Thursday evening. That cone goes from roughly Panama City to just outside of Tampa. But this is going to be a big storm. So don't just focus on that cone. This storm is in excellent agreement, at least so far.

Our American model, the European model, all of our models take the storm up towards the Big Bend Thursday evening. So as of now, all of the east side of the storm, the worst side of it would be the west coast of Florida. And then, of course, we have to deal with the rain and wind after. All right, Bill, thanks very much. In Florida today, prosecutors revealed chilling new details about the man accused of plotting to assassinate former President Trump at his golf course. Jesse Kirsch was in court. Keep walking! Tonight, federal prosecutors revealing in the month leading up to his arrest,

Ryan Ruth repeatedly showed up near former President Donald Trump's South Florida home and golf course. Authorities say the 58-year-old was in the area for one reason only, to kill former President Trump. A new filing alleges months ago, Ruth gave someone this handwritten letter addressed to the world, which says in part, this was an assassination attempt on Donald Trump, but I am so sorry I failed you. Prosecutors say last Sunday, Ruth hid here in a sniper's nest next to Mr. Trump's golf course until a Secret Service agent spotted Ruth along the unsecure fence line, saw the barrel of a rifle aimed directly at him, jumped out of the golf cart and fired at Ruth. This evil would-be assassin got within a few hundred yards of where I stood.

Driver, walk straight back. Prosecutors say two additional license plates, six cell phones and 12 pairs of gloves were found in Ruth's getaway vehicle, along with a list of some of Mr. Trump's upcoming appearances. Today in federal court, a judge ruled Ruth will remain behind bars while awaiting trial. So far, he faces two federal weapons charges, but prosecutors say they'll soon present evidence of an attempted assassination charge to a grand jury. Tonight in a statement, the former president saying he does not trust the Department of Justice and FBI to investigate, writing they have a conflict of interest since they have been obsessed with getting Trump for so long.

Meanwhile, in court today, an FBI special agent said he is not aware of any surveillance video showing Ruth holding that rifle at the scene. The agent also said there has not yet been any handwriting analysis completed linking Ruth to that concerning letter. Lester. All right, Jesse Kirsch, thank you. And new polling reveals the shifting trend lines in the race for president as former President Trump campaigned today in Battleground, Pennsylvania. Garrett Haik now with the latest.

With just six weeks until Election Day, former President Trump in critical Pennsylvania as he's showing new signs of strength in three other crucial battlegrounds. Polls tonight revealing Trump leads Vice President Harris in North Carolina, Georgia and Arizona, all within the margin of error. But nationally, it's Harris with the edge, according to our NBC News poll. The vice president's five point lead within the margin of error, powered by a huge jump in her personal favorability, up 16 points from July, the biggest such boost in NBC News polling since George W. Bush's surge after 9-11. Still, Trump leads Harris by eight points on handling what voters said was their most important issue, inflation and rising costs.

If you cast your vote for Kamala Harris, you're voting for four more years of brutal job losses, higher taxes, surging prices. Trump today visiting a grocery store in Pennsylvania. You talk to the people right here that are paying 30, 40, 50 percent more for their groceries, which I think I can say is right. Am I right? Yes, it's a disgrace. Inflation recently dropped to two and a half percent, though prices have risen nearly 20 percent since President Biden and Harris took office four years ago. Harris planning an economic speech later this week. I believe in what we can create in terms of opportunity for the American people.

I've named it an opportunity economy. And pressuring Trump to debate her a second time, which he is now refusing to do. The voters of America deserve to hear the conversations that I think we should be having on substance, on issues, on policies. What's your plan? What's my plan? Garrett, you also have new reporting tonight about former President Trump returning to Butler, Pennsylvania. That's right, Lester. That visit is now scheduled for October 5th. Multiple campaign sources tell me one month to the day before Election Day.

The Trump campaign clearly trying to create a moment around his return to the city where he survived that assassination attempt. Lester. Garrett Hake in Pennsylvania tonight. Thanks. In Alabama, an urgent manhunt is underway after a mass shooting left four people dead in Birmingham. Police say multiple shooters got out of a car and opened fire on a group outside a lounge Saturday night. Investigators are examining whether it was part of a murder-for-hire plot. A $100,000 reward is being offered in that case.

We'll take a break right here, then in 60 seconds, another American town targeted on immigration. But what is the reality on the ground? We're in the western Pennsylvania town with the growing Haitian population. Next. We're back now with a deeper look inside a small town in Battleground, Pennsylvania, now a recent target of former President Trump on the issue of immigration. Yamiche Alcindor is there for us tonight.

Tonight, another city with a growing Haitian population on edge after more inaccurate claims from former President Trump. Charleroi has experienced a 2,000% increase in the population of Haitian migrants under Kamala Harris. The schools are scrambling to hire translators for the influx of students and the town is virtually bankrupt. Here in Charleroi,

Pennsylvania, just like in Springfield, Ohio, local Republicans say Haitians have been an asset to the community. The Haitian immigrants here have a very good reputation. The problem is that the federal government dumped these people in and aren't providing any resources. In recent years, many came illegally to Charleroi to work at the local meat processing facility, like Pierre-Richard Monplaisir. Do you think that what former President Trump is saying is true, that Haitians are having a negative impact here?

No, no. When I came here like four years ago, so the town was a ghost town. And now we've got a group of people that are working and paying tax. Monplaisir also works as an interpreter for the school system. Five years ago, 12 students were learning English as non-native speakers. This year, that number is 225. We believe now diversity is our superpower. But Superintendent Ed Zelich says the state has provided additional funding.

We're not struggling. Are there more things we would like to have? Absolutely. But I think any school district wouldn't be able to say that. Misty Cassidy disagrees. There's just so many people and there's just not enough resources. There's not enough jobs. There's not enough homes.

She's glad Trump, who she supports, has been calling attention to Charleroi and Springfield. People need to know that it's just not Springfield. This is coming to a town near you. What is coming to a town near you? Haitians or immigrants that have poured over the border within the last couple years. Why is that a bad thing given the fact that some would say the United States is a nation of immigrants?

They're not coming here to assimilate with us. They're coming here to take over, it seems. But Montplaisir says Trump's comments are harmful. How worried are you that what happened in Springfield with the threats and the harassment that Haitian immigrants, that they might happen here? Yes, that's why they are afraid about it. That's why some of them want to leave the town. Yamiche Alcindor, NBC News, Charleroi, Pennsylvania. And coming up here tonight, it's one of the most alarming trends on the web,

deep fakes of kids. Meet the mothers and city fighting back after disturbing AI-generated photos appeared online. The new legal frontier, next. Officials are warning about sexually explicit deep fake photos spreading across the internet and social media. Now one major U.S. city is drawing the line. Savannah Sellers now on a landmark lawsuit. How was the math test? Yvonne Meade's first priority is being a mom. So a particular New York Times article shocked her. About a 15 year old girl whose life had been devastated by a non-consensual image of her that was new. That image was what's known as a deep fake, a picture that may be created with a real face,

but using artificial intelligence to make a fake body. When I read it, my own daughter, who's now 16, I thought to myself, this can't, this would be horrible. Madej happens to be in a position to do something about it. In addition to being a mom, she's a top litigator in the San Francisco City Attorney's Office. She shared the article with her colleague, fellow mom and lawyer, Sarah Eisenberg. How does this work? So there's a lot of different ways. I can take a picture of anyone, anytime. You can take a picture of a girl going to prom. I can grab it off of her social media page without her even knowing that I have taken it. Go to any number of these websites

that are out there and just upload that picture and it will use artificial intelligence to undress that person. Medea and Eisenberg's boss, city attorney David Chu, gave them the go-ahead to pursue legal action against the practice. They say it resulted in a first-of-its-kind lawsuit naming 16 top websites that create and distribute fake nude images of women and girls without consent. What we found truly horrified us. There have been over 200 million visitors in just these 16 websites alone. What do you understand that impact to be? We know that these images have been used to bully, humiliate, and threaten women and girls. The impact on these victims cannot be underestimated. Those victims range from massive superstars to high school girls across the

country. The suit alleges the practice is not just harmful, it's illegal. They argue even the marketing used by the websites obliterates any notion of consent, pointing out one defendant's advertising. Imagine wasting time taking her out on dates when you can just use the website to get her nudes. Contact information for most of the companies named in the lawsuit could not be found. They have violated deep fake pornography laws, child pornography laws. Do you really think there's a chance you can get these websites shut down? Absolutely. I don't think there's anyone who defends what is happening here.

We're talking about everyday people who are seeing their faces turn into pornography and, in too many instances, child pornography. For Maree and Eisenberg, it's a labor of love, both for their constituents and a little closer to home. You want to make a difference. You want to look back. I get choked up. Like, you want to make a difference. This makes a difference. Do you think about your daughter when you feel that way? I do.

I think about my daughter, and I want her to be about my daughter and I want her to be proud of me. I want her to be proud of what the office does. Savannah Sellers, NBC News, San Francisco. All right, up next here tonight, the good news when she needed a new home, but never imagined hundreds would turn out to build it. Finally, there's good news tonight about a brave Kentucky mom and the hundreds who teamed up to give her a gift beyond her wildest dreams. Here's Sam Brock. In Stanford, Kentucky, population 3,700 sits a community committed to loving thy neighbor. It'd be hard to find any nicer people, I'll go ahead and tell you that.

It definitely truly lives up to the small town feel. And for Lucinda Cindy Mullins, that kindness came at the most critical time. Have a great day. I love you. After a routine surgery to address a kidney stone led to sepsis and a near-death experience, requiring doctors to partially amputate all four limbs. Cindy's husband and two sons, grateful she survived. It's hard for me to think about now that he may have had to tell our children that I wasn't coming home. But Cindy's heart isn't just still beating. It's full after learning that James Crocker, a Florida businessman a thousand miles away, heard about her story and drove straight to Kentucky with a plan. Never met Cindy, but seeing an article where a woman loses all four limbs within a few days,

it just was heartbreaking. What happened next has a name, the Mullins miracle. We're building this home in 10 days, and my hope is that the country will be inspired. Cronker's Herculean mission, an accessible home in only 10 days. But when you have 300 volunteers. I think it's for a good cause. I really feel good about doing it. All pitching in. The impossible is actually quite possible.

Because nine days after Cindy signed her name to the doorframe, the reveal. It was more than I ever could have imagined. Cindy celebrating not just with James and her family, but hundreds from this special community. A show of love and support that would make anyone's heart sing. God and love built this house. And that's exactly what happened here. Sam Brock,

NBC News. I think the country was inspired. 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.