NBC Nightly News with Tom Llamas - Saturday, March 9, 2024

Episode Date: March 10, 2024

Report: Justice Department opens criminal investigation into Alaska Airlines mid-air incident; 2 National Guard soldiers, Border Patrol agent killed in Texas helicopter crash; New efforts underway to deliver food aid to Gaza; and more on tonight’s broadcast.

Tonight, new developments in the investigation into the Alaska Airlines mid-air scare. The Justice Department reportedly looking into what happened on the flight two months after this hole ripped open on the plane in mid-air. The nightmare near catastrophe now under federal scrutiny. Investigators have reportedly interviewed passengers, attendants, even the pilots. What we know so far. The deadly helicopter crash at our southern border. Two soldiers and a border patrol agent killed.

The latest on the investigation. Possible tornadoes tearing through Alabama and Georgia. Ripping the roofs off of these homes and scattering debris. Where the storm is going next. The general election unofficially kicking off today. President Biden and former President Trump with dueling rallies just miles apart in a critical swing state. We're the reason why we're going to win. This has been a tremendous week for our movement. What to watch for as the campaign heats up.

The new push for aid in Gaza. What the U.S. is doing to get critical supplies there as the humanitarian crisis grows. Caught on camera. Frightening video at a Texas zoo. The moment this gorilla charges at zookeepers trapped inside this enclosure. And roll out the red carpet. The history and potential surprises to watch out for

at tomorrow's Academy Awards. This is NBC Nightly News with Jose Diaz-Balart. Good evening. Tonight, the Justice Department is reportedly getting involved in one of the most dramatic mishaps Portland, Oregon back in January after an entire panel of the Boeing 737 MAX 9 blew off mid-flight. A terrifying moment for passengers. A child's clothes sucked out, oxygen masks dropping. Incredibly, nobody was hurt after it made an emergency landing, but the incident raised a lot of questions. Chief among them, how did this happen? Tonight, the Wall Street Journal reports the Department of Justice is now investigating. Our George Solis leads us off tonight.

Tonight, the Justice Department now opening a criminal investigation into that mid-air scare on an Alaska Airlines flight involving a MAX 9 jet, where a door plug blew out over Portland, according to the Wall Street Journal. The journal reporting investigators contacting pilots, flight attendants, and even passengers on board flight 1282 that was forced to make an emergency landing where fortunately no one was hurt. The Justice Department provided no comment to NBC News. The focus of the investigation set to center on whether Boeing has complied with a previous settlement following a federal investigation into the airline's handling of the deadly jet crashes in 2018 and 2019 that killed 346 people. Today, the company providing no comment to NBC News.

They're going to look pretty seriously. Is this a one-off or is this systemic? In a preliminary report last month, the NTSB found four bolts needed to keep the door plug in place were missing. Tonight, Alaska Airlines saying in a statement in part, it's normal for the DOJ to be conducting an investigation. We are fully cooperating and do not believe we are a target of the investigation. News of the investigation. News of the investigation comes as the NTSB has blasted Boeing for failing to turn in records about the blowout, a claim the company refutes. But in a letter this week to U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell, Boeing revealing they can't find any documentation on the removal of the door plug.

That's probably not a good answer either. It's a horrible answer. And when I read that, I was shocked that, one, they don't have the documentation. They're required to have that documentation. And if not, then we're talking about a much deeper problem of procedural compliance. We are also following breaking news on our southern border after a helicopter crash killed two soldiers and a border patrol agent. Priscilla Thompson has the very latest on the investigation. Tonight, an investigation is underway into what caused the crash of this National Guard

helicopter, killing one border patrol agent and two soldiers on board. A third soldier seriously injured. It was unbelievable. Wesley Vanderpool says he was about a thousand feet away when the chopper crashed in his onion patch. All of a sudden, it started swirling or circling, spinning like a top. It just dropped like a rock. It dropped like a rock. The UH-72 Lakota helicopter went down during aviation operations near Rio Grande City, the Department of Defense says, part of a federal border mission. It could be involved in just in a surveillance. You know, many of the chases that we have along the border are extremely dangerous. When you have that area of support, it provides a level of safety. Head of the National Guard Daniel Hokanson calling the incident a tragic loss beyond words

and saying all of these people represent selfless service and the best of America. President Biden today offering his deepest condolences to their families and loved ones. Friday's deadly crash comes on the heels of his State of the Union address, where the partisan fight over border policy was front and center. I'm ready to fix it. Send me the border bill now. State of the Union address, where the partisan fight over border policy was front and center. I'm ready to fix it. Send me the border bill now. Tonight, the lives lost, an important reminder of the stakes. Priscilla, what more do we know about those who lost their lives?

Jose, the Department of Defense has yet to release the names of those killed, wanting first to inform their families. That process usually takes about 24 hours. Jose? Priscilla Thompson, thank you. Also developing tonight, tornadoes appear to be touching down in Alabama and Georgia earlier today. You can see roofs ripped off of those homes in Echo, Alabama. That system is set to move north with rain continuing tomorrow. Twenty nine million people under flood alerts from Virginia to Maine. Overseas, the rush to

get aid inside Gaza is growing more urgent as millions of Palestinians are at risk from the humanitarian crisis there. Molly Hunter reports tonight on the new efforts underway to bring aid to the Strip. Setting off from Cyprus this weekend, yet another international effort to get aid into Gaza even faster. A joint mission between the Spanish organization Open Arms and chef Jose Andres' World Central Kitchen. The Open Arms, you can see behind me, is getting ready to set sail to deliver food aid into Gaza. The open arms will travel about 200 miles through a newly secured maritime corridor to reach an undisclosed location in Gaza. While today, U.S. airdrops continued parachuting food pallets into northern Gaza. But on Friday, Palestinian officials said at least five people were killed,

not by Israeli bombs, but by aid pallets crashing from the sky, falling rapidly, the parachutes failing. But the U.S. says all of its aid landed safely. On the ground, desperation. Aziz Abdullah says they've been waiting for hours, but it's not enough for his family of seven. As famine stalks northern Gaza, UNICEF says children are already starving to death. This comes as the U.S. announced a new plan to build a temporary pier off the coast of Gaza. The Pentagon says it could take up to two months, requiring a thousand U.S. troops. International organizations say President Biden should instead pressure Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu to allow more aid in Beirut. Israel says it's not

preventing aid from getting to the people who need it most. The U.N.'s special rapporteur on the right to food, Michael Fakhry, calling airdrops and the peer plan absurd and a performance to meet a domestic audience. More evidence of the peril from airdrops posted to social media today, highlighting the risk of what was meant for relief. And tonight, inside Israel, hostage families running out of patience. And with the Muslim holy month of Ramadan about to begin, there's no ceasefire in sight. Molly Hunter, NBC News. And meanwhile in the Caribbean, Haiti's prime minister is facing new pressure to resign

after the State Department said his hold on power is untenable. It comes as the country spirals to control under gang violence. And a former coup leader is now trying to take power in that country. And now to the race for president here in the U.S. and our first look at what the general election will look like. President Biden and former President Trump both in the campaign trail today in Georgia. Aaron Gilchrist has what we can expect as the campaign heats up. Tonight, the first dueling rallies for the presidency in Battleground, Georgia. President Biden landing in Atlanta with former President Donald Trump 70 miles away in Rome,

his first time in the state since being booked at the Fulton County Jail last August, accused of scheming to overturn the 2020 election. Hello, Georgia. I'm thrilled to be back in Rome. We did very well in Rome. President Biden's Georgia visit coming on the heels of a State of the Union speech supporters hailed as energetic and fiery. The president sitting down today with MSNBC's Jonathan Capehart addressing an unscripted moment in his speech. Lincoln, Lincoln Riley, an innocent young woman who was killed by an illegal. That's right. I'm not going to treat any of these people with disrespect. Look, they built the country. The reason our economy is growing.

We have to control the border and more orderly flow, but I don't share his view at all. So you regret using that word? Yes. That walk back drawing fire from Trump, who met with the parents of Lagan Riley before his rally. And Biden should be apologizing for apologizing to this killer. Biden launched his general election campaign in Pennsylvania on Friday before turning his attention to Georgia and communities of color, getting key endorsements from Asian, black and Latino PACs, along with a $30 million commitment to help him win in November. The Biden campaign also releasing a new ad targeting communities of color and young

voters in battleground states, taking the issue of his age in stride. Look, I'm not a young guy. That's no secret. But here in Atlanta... Are you registered to vote? Yes. Even as groups like this sorority work to register people for the fall election, the crisis in Gaza fueling a Biden protest vote for Georgia's March 12th primary. I spoke with a state legislator who supports Democratic voters, leaving their ballots blank. The ask is really clear. We need to course correct. We need a permanent ceasefire. Still, President Biden buoyed by his speech to Congress that campaign officials say helped generate record single day donations and voters say showed he's ready to take on Trump. Super energetic, stayed organized, kept delivering punch after punch. Biden referenced Lake and Riley in our story, the Trump campaign confirming to NBC News that the parents of Lake and Riley met with the former president backstage before he went on in Rome.

We are back with frightening new video of a gorilla charging at two zookeepers trapped in an enclosure. The incident occurred last October at the Fort Worth Zoo in Texas, but the video was just posted online this week. You can see the zookeepers running as Elmo, the 34-year-old silverback gorilla, went after them. The zoo says nobody was hurt. All keepers and animals are safe. Big news for high school students. The SATs have gone completely digital now, meaning no more number two pencils. Zinc Blasimois has the details and what it means for kids across the country. It's the night before the big test, and 16-year-old Raina Robinson in Edison, New Jersey, is running through a slew of practice questions. So this is a section one reading and writing practice question.

This week, the high school junior is among the first 500,000 students nationwide taking the updated SAT exam, now 100% digital and an hour shorter. Why did the college board choose to make this decision? Really honestly, we're rooted in what we were hearing increasingly from students and schools. We were quickly becoming one of the last major tests that they were taking on paper. The college board, which offers the SATs, piloted the digital exam abroad last year. We made the decision hearing quite clearly from students in schools that they were ready. But Reyna says she and her classmates still have some reservations.

I don't know what to expect 100 percent, whereas I've been studying for the paper version all my life and now they're completely changing it. With the newly designed test, students can bring their own laptop or use a device provided. The college board says BlueBook, the app used for the exam, has security and encryption functions to prevent cheating. Also new to the SAT, what's known as adaptive testing. It adapts questions that students get based on how they performed earlier in the assessment. Meaning the more questions you answer correctly, the harder the next question becomes. Hi, Reina. We checked in with Reina today right after the test. What was the feeling for you when you finished your exam?

Similar to putting a pencil down, we were all closing our laptops. We were so glad that it was finally over. But I think it was a lot less stressful because we were taking it on a computer because all the assessments we take in school are usually on our computers anyway. An age-old exam reimagined for the new generation of test takers. Zinclea Samoa, NBC News. And a reminder to set your clocks forward an hour tonight. Daylight saving time is set to begin at 2 a.m. Eastern. Most of us will now get later sunsets until the fall, even if we lose an hour of sleep. The only states that don't observe it, Hawaii and Arizona.

When we come back, there's good news tonight about this player's slam dunk moment and the surprise he will never forget. There's good news tonight. So often the good news doesn't get as much attention as the bad. So every Saturday we highlight the many people who spread joy and love. These are just some of those stories this week. This was a celebration of a lifetime. For high school senior Jacob Bobo Bowman, surrounded by teammates. After sinking this shot to help the Virginia

Gate City Blue Devils win. It was a thrill because Bobo is the team manager who typically plays football but off the field and on the court he scored the very first time the coach put him in the game. And a special moment one Nebraskaaskan family will never forget. That's Army Major Timothy Wobing surprising his daughter Lila at school after more than nine months overseas. Thank you so much. But that was not the only surprise he had in store. How about you get your stuff and I'm gonna go say hi to your brother.

Okay. Lila's twin brother Roman also stunned by his father's homecoming. Hey bud. Nothing can prepare you for that time just seeing the joy in your kids eyes. Okay. And a special celebration for eight-year-old Layla Gregory in Las Vegas. Ringing the bell to mark the end of more than two years of cancer treatment. For friends and family, it was an opportunity to celebrate. This slam dunk moment, one Brigham Young University guard, Kaylee Smiler, never expected. That's her on senior night.

The New Zealand native surprised by family and friends who performed the haka, a ceremonial dance and an important part of their Maori traditions. The surprises though weren't over yet. Her parents, Philip and Luana, flew thousands of miles from their home in Australia to Utah to give their daughter a night she'd remember forever. I was in tears. It was very special and emotional, and I loved it. What was it like to see her surprise? It was really emotional. It was an absolute privilege.

We were able to use the haka to say we're proud of you. We love you. The evening for this family, a reminder of one thing above all. Back home, we have a ton of these multicultural sayings. It's a question and you ask, you know, what is the most important thing in this world? And the answer is, it is people, it is people. For this specific experience, it's for me, but, you know, my hope is that I'm able to do it for everybody else as well. And Kayleigh is planning to play professional basketball overseas.

That's NBC Nightly News for this Saturday. Peter Alexander will be here tomorrow night. I'm Jose Diaz-Balart. Thank you for the privilege of your time. Good night.