NBC Nightly News with Tom Llamas - Saturday, August 3, 2024

Episode Date: August 4, 2024

Team USA sweeps more medals in gymnastics, swimming, track and more; Team USA gymnast Stephen Nedoroscik’s rise to Olympic fame; Vice President Harris nears decision on running mate; and more on tonight’s broadcast.

This is NBC Nightly News, reporting tonight from the Olympics in Paris. Here is Lester Holt. Good evening and welcome. The roar of the crowd still ringing in the air at the pool here in Paris tonight after American swimming great Katie Ledecky thundered her way to a thrilling first place finish in the 800 meter freestyle, taking her place as the first woman to win four gold medals in the same individual event. She is now the most decorated female Olympian in U.S. history. And that wasn't the only U.S. gold in the pool.

America's biggest stars delivering today across Paris, Simone Biles winning gold in the vault, continuing her comeback tour. Also, action on the track this evening, where U.S. hopeful Sha'Carri Richardson took second of the 100-meter to Julian Alford of St. Lucia, the first Olympic medal ever for the tiny Caribbean nation. Lots of medals in play here today. Let's find out where it all stands. Keir Simmons starts us off. Tonight, Katie Ledecky wrapping up her Olympics with an exclamation point, beating out her Australian rival and winning gold in the 800 meter freestyle, tying the record for the most golds ever for a female Olympian. To the one and only Katie Ledecky. In an absolute nail biter, the U.S. pulled out gold in the mixed 4x100 medley relay, setting a world record.

And Simone Biles, wowing again, nailing her signature vault, the Yachenko double pike, and winning her third gold medal of the Games. Her teammate Jake Carey won bronze. On a rainy night over at the track, Sha'Carri Richardson sprinted 100 metres in just 10.87 seconds but it wasn't enough for gold. Instead it was Julian Alfred's night, winning the first gold medal ever for solution. It was amazing right now. So it's a celebration right now. Richardson one silver and team USA's Melissa Jefferson took

bronze the 4 by 400 meter mixed relay equally thrilling the Dutch team edged out the Americans in the final moments for gold. Despite the slick conditions tonight the U.S. went one for two in shot put, with Joe Kovacs taking silver and Ryan Krauser winning his third straight gold. I think we can safely say you dominate this sport now. Thank you. Yeah, it's this one means I think the most. No one has won three golds up until now. Noah Lyle's pursuit for gold begins. Earlier in the day, Noah Lyles easily advanced to the 100-meter semifinals in his Paris debut. It

wasn't the U.S. women's soccer team's most thrilling game today, but they got the job done, beating Japan in extra time and moving on to the semi-finals. Rodman and Trinity Rodman. It was a fight and it got ugly at times. But the best fighting finish of the day has to go to Belgium cyclist Remco Evenepoel. He was in the lead with less than three miles to go when he punctured a tyre. Anything, give me a bike, give me a bike, give me a bike. He hopped on the replacement bike and sped away. A road race gold medal for Renko Evenepoel. And five minutes later,

he won gold under the Eiffel Tower. Kira, that was a remarkable moment on the bike. Let me ask you about Simone Biles. She's not finished here. No, she isn't, Lester. She competes in the final of the beam and the floor on Monday. And she said tonight she might even go to L.A. I think she's enjoying herself, Lester. All right. Kier Simmons, thanks very much. Let's turn now to the breakout star of these Olympics, Stephen Nedarosik,

America's man on the pommel horse. Today, he won another medal and won over the country and the Internet again. Stephanie Goss caught up with him after. When Steven Nederosik took off the glasses and started flying on the pommel horse today, he was already a hero. His performance in the team competition Monday, clinching the bronze medal, the first in 16 years for the U.S. And today, another bronze. What's the best word to describe the last week for you?

Unforgettable. But Ned Arosik isn't just hauling in the medals. He's blowing up the internet. It started during the team event when the cameras first trained on him. The bespectacled gymnast brought solely to perform on the pommel horse, awaiting the most important routine of his life. And there he was, eyes closed, leaning back. Was he napping?

No, I wasn't napping. I was just visualizing my routine over and over. One observer writing, he just sits there until he is activated like a sleeper agent. He was nearly flawless. Cue the meme machine. There is a striking resemblance to Clark Kent. Was there a moment when you realized the internet was losing its mind over you? Yeah, it was when I finally got to see my family after team finals. My girlfriend gave me a big hug and she said, have you looked at your phone yet? And I was like, what? She goes,

you're number five trending on Twitter. And I was like, you're kidding me. The world discovered he was from Worcester, Mass., went to Penn State, and also happened to be exceptionally good at the Rubik's Cube. After winning the bronze today, Ned Arasic walked the floor. The flag tucked in very cape-like. Are you leaning into this whole superhero thing? I guess I am. My coach came up to me and said,

Stephen, you don't get a flag, you get a cape. And it was legitimately a whole cape. It was awesome. At the Olympics, there are the athletes who come in famous. What may be even more fun are those who get here, nail the moment, and turn into instant sensations. Stephanie Gosk, NBC News, Paris. Love his smile. We'll have more from the Olympics in just a few minutes.

And of course, tonight on NBC, starting at 8 p.m. Eastern, 7 Central. To the other big news today, and the updated forecast out late this afternoon, tropical storm Debbie now on track to hit Florida as a hurricane. Let's get right to NBC News meteorologist Angie Lastman for the latest. Angie, what's it looking like tonight? Lester, it looks like we'll see a Category 1 hurricane impacting the state of Florida here in the next couple of days. Some of those outer bands of rain already impacting the state as this system has winds up to 40 miles per hour right now, sitting just to the north of Havana, Cuba. As it spends some time over those warm Gulf waters, likely intensifying, making a landfall in the Big Bend area late Monday morning into early Monday afternoon. Then it kind of spends some time over the southeastern United

States and just offshore. This is going to be problematic for rainfall amounts as the system sticks around. We could see anywhere from 5 to 10 inches of rain for the big picture, but along that coastal Carolina region, we're going to see anywhere from 15 to 20 inches. On top of that, the potential for 4 to 7 feet of storm surge in the Big Bend area. Lester? All right, Angie, thank you. To politics and the high-stakes decision for Vice President Kamala Harris, meeting with potential running mates this weekend

as former President Trump tries to upend the debate schedule. Dasha Burns is on the campaign trail in Atlanta, Georgia. Arriving at the vice president's residence in Washington this morning, former Attorney General Eric Holder, the man leading the vetting process for Kamala Harris's running mate selection. Vice President Harris off the trail and hunkered down this weekend, facing the biggest decision yet of her campaign, meeting with those in contention for her current job as she vies for the presidency. Her shortlist believed to include Arizona Senator Mark Kelly, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, and four governors, Kentucky's Andy Beshear, J.B. Pritzker from Illinois,

Minnesota's Tim Waltz, and Josh Shapiro from Key Battleground, Pennsylvania. Her decision expected by tuesday as tonight her campaign is grappling with the tabloid report about second gentleman doug emhoff's past the report which nbc news has not independently verified saying emhoff had an affair during his first marriage years before his involvement with harris in a statement tonight emhoff saying he and his first wife quote went through some tough times on account of my actions. I took responsibility. And in the years since, we worked through things as a family. Ninety four days from now, we're going to win the great state of Georgia in an epic.

Former President Trump in Atlanta, Georgia, tonight, where the latest polls show an essentially tied contest. Tonight's event at the same venue where Harris rallied 10,000 supporters on Tuesday and called on Trump to honor the planned September 10th presidential debate. Because as the saying goes, if you've got something to say, say it to my face. But Trump now wants to change the date and the network, challenging Harris to debate him in Pennsylvania on September 4th with Fox News serving as a debate host. And Vice President Harris responded on social media saying she'll be there at the previously agreed upon date of September 10th

and that she hopes she'll see former President Trump there. Lester. All right, Dr. Bern, tonight, thank you. We have a major reversal tonight in the case against the men accused of plotting the 9-11 terror attacks. They will no longer get a plea deal and once again could face the death penalty. Ali Rafa has the latest. In a stunning reversal, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin withdrawing a controversial plea deal for the three men accused of planning the 9-11 terror attacks. There was a part of me that was relieved, relieved that the victims were heard.

Ashley Bisman relieved after Secretary Austin's announcement late Friday that effectively puts the death penalty back on the table for the suspects if convicted. Her father, Jeffrey Goldflam, was killed in the attack on the World Trade Center. I just think of my father and how much he's missed. Austin's rare decision comes just days after a polarizing agreement that allowed the three to plead guilty to lesser charges, avoiding the death penalty. One of them, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, known as KSM, the self-confessed mastermind of the 9-11 attacks. That initial deal sparked widespread criticism, but Austin's reversal is now being praised by lawmakers and 9-11 family members. However, one attorney who's

represented other accused terrorists calls the decision dirty, saying it robs 9-11 family members of justice. Austin's reversal now gives him authority of the three cases moving forward, though a trial is still likely years away. Ali Rafa, NBC News. A stunning sight in Venezuela today following a week of political unrest. That's opposition leader Maria Corina Machado. She came out of hiding today, joining protesters saying this week's presidential election was stolen by Nicolas Maduro, who was declared the winner for a third term by his own election committee. The U.S. now one of many countries saying it is clear that Maduro lost the election.

Still ahead tonight, the shocking new video and fallout from the death of a man at a Milwaukee hotel. Also putting the pedal to the metal, a Team USA cyclist's wild ride to success. We're back with an update to a story we've been reporting on. There is newly released video showing the moments leading up to this summer's death of a man at a Milwaukee hotel while being held down by hotel staff. Maura Barrett reports and a warning what you're about to see is disturbing. Hitting him with a walkie-talkie, kicking him in the face. Tonight, new surveillance video and new details in Devante Mitchell's death as the county medical examiner determined his cause of death as a homicide due to, quote, restraint, asphyxia and toxic effects of cocaine and methamphetamine.

Mitchell died in late June. His family's attorney says hotel employees, including an off-duty security guard and a front desk clerk, pinned him face down on the ground outside the Hyatt Regency. Police say he had caused a disturbance. I have to watch his life being taken for nothing. Mitchell's widow angered by the new video, released by the family's attorney, who narrates her husband's last minutes alive. We're just fighting for basic, simple justice here. While the new video does not show the initial, quote, disturbance,

it appears to show Mitchell running through the hotel lobby and into the women's bathroom in what his family says was a result of a mental health episode. As he's escorted out, a security guard appears to punch Mitchell. Another camera appears to show Mitchell dragged through the hotel doors. According to the lawyer, another employee then hits him repeatedly with a broom before a separate employee hits him with what the lawyer says was a baton. Then the employees appear to force him face down. When you hear people say, oh, all we did was hold him down. None of that is true. NBC News has attempted to reach out to the individuals shown in the video,

but have not heard back. Ambridge Hospitality, which operates the Hyatt property, wrote in a statement it is conducting its own investigation, which has resulted in the termination of several associates. The Milwaukee DA says they are reviewing the case. No one has been charged, but these new findings, the family's attorneys argue, call for immediate charges. Maura Barrett, NBC News. We'll take a break here. Coming up, our Olympics coverage continues with Gearing Up for Gold, the Team USA cyclists and their surprising ride to the top. Welcome back from Paris, where so many of the athletes competing here started their sports soon after they could walk. But tonight we have the surprising story of a Team USA cyclist who didn't even get started in the sport until after college.

Once again, here's Stephanie Gosk. There are many different roads to the Olympics, but few quite as unique as the one taken by cyclist Kristen Faulkner. Other sports I was good at and I enjoyed, but I didn't have that same deep passion that I do for cycling. How quickly did it happen for you? Were you like, oh my God, I love this? Yeah, right away. Her unlikely journey began in Homer, Alaska. Is Homer, Alaska really the halibut capital of the world?

It's self-proclaimed halibut fishing capital of the world. When you drive into town, there's a big sign. There actually is a sign. My parents own a hotel restaurant in Alaska. And when we were kids, they had us work every single job at the hotel restaurant. No bike racing. Not yet. Both my parents are quite outdoorsy, and we did a lot of hiking outdoors. At Harvard, where she studied computer science, she rode crew. Still no cycling. Then she moved to New York City, starting a job in venture capital.

I still needed to have that outdoors fix that was such a big part of my life. And that's when she first started cycling with a lot to learn. I couldn't clip in and I was like, why is this not working? And I was starting to get really embarrassed. And then finally we realized I just had incompatible cleats and pedals. Once she got the right shoes, she was off. It was kind of my outlet every day to get into Central Park and ride for two hours away from the bustle of the city. We'd wake up and start training at 5 a.m. The passion for riding quickly turned into more than just a hobby. I came with this really big physical engine from rowing and other sports that really helped me in cycling. But I was also a very quick learner.

She had a meteoric rise in the sport, quitting her job to race as a pro in Europe only a handful of years after cycling for the first time. Now she has a spot on Team USA. What would be the best adjective to describe your trajectory in this sport? I would honestly use the word resilience. I've had a concussion. I've been hit by a car. And every time, I've never lost my passion to keep going. It's never a matter of if I'll keep going. It's just a matter of how. The unusual pedigree aside, there is no doubt Faulkner is an Olympian. Stephanie Gosk, NBC News, Colorado Springs. That's NBC Nightly News for this Saturday. A reminder, our Olympics coverage from Paris continues tonight at 8 p.m. Eastern, 7 Central. I'll see you back here tomorrow night. I'm Lester Holt. Thanks for

watching and please take care of yourselves and each other. Good night.