NBC Nightly News with Tom Llamas - Sunday, February 16, 2025

Episode Date: February 17, 2025

Severe storms kill at least eight in Kentucky; Secretary of State Rubio in Israel as Ukraine peace talks ramp up; Growing concerns over measles outbreak in Texas; and more on tonight’s broadcast.

Tonight, we are tracking the deadly flooding emergency in Kentucky from that huge winter storm system. At least eight people killed by the rising water. Emergency crews launching more than a thousand rescues. And nearby, a levee break forcing people in Tennessee to rush to higher ground. Four confirmed tornadoes touching down in three states. Plus, the impact on travel. Thousands of flights delayed or canceled today alone. We are tracking all of it. The Secretary of State in the Middle East ahead of high-stakes

talks to end the war in Ukraine. And President Trump now sharing new details about the lengthy conversation between U.S. officials and Vladimir Putin. Dramatic video as a cargo ship slammed by rough seas runs aground. The race to get the crew off safely. Dangerous outbreak of measles in Texas. Cases doubling in just days. Health officials now sounding the alarm it may be spreading. This is NBC Nightly News with Hallie Jackson.

Good evening. We are coming on the air with emergency crews racing to rescue people trapped in devastating flooding in Kentucky, where at least eight people have been killed, including a mother and her seven-year-old. Their car swept away. You can see what the torrential rain has done to neighborhoods all across the state. At least one hospital evacuated. Nursing homes, too, according to officials there, with more than a thousand rescues already because of scenes like this. You can see from above water flooding the street and just across the border in northern Tennessee, a levee failure. Look at that. And flash flood emergency tonight. Airports seeing hundreds of flight cancellations and delays. And now officials are bracing for more wind, sleet and snow in the week ahead. We have team coverage tonight, starting with Shaquille Brewster on the ground in Kentucky. Tonight, historic and deadly flash floods slamming the South.

We have lots of roads that are closed due to flooding. At least eight dead in Kentucky fears that number could go up. More than a thousand rescues, crews racing to save people stranded in rising waters. You can see the scope of the damage in communities across the state, entire neighborhoods wiped out and underwater. The governor today declaring a disaster emergency. This is one of the most serious weather events we've dealt with in at least a decade. Stay off the roads. If you hit water, turn around. It's not worth dying. Power out to hundreds of thousands across the region. The devastation hitting Tennessee,

a catastrophic situation unfolding in the northwest part of the state after floodwaters overwhelmed the levee pouring into this community. Rescue crews rushing resources to the area. Water's coming down pretty quick and getting pretty high. Neighborhoods from Tennessee to Virginia underwater. Some places getting nearly eight inches of rain since just yesterday. And it wasn't just the floods. Four confirmed tornadoes across the south, too. We got a pretty large tree that fell on a house.

And our George Solis is in Florence, Mississippi. Now you can see where the tree snapped here right before it fell onto the roof of the home. And fortunately, the homeowners were unharmed. A different story, though, in Atlanta, where wind gusts got up to 70 miles an hour, a tree there falling and killing a man in his home. In northwest Alabama, a massive cleanup is underway after gusts tore through buildings and power lines. You see behind me, roofs are blown off. Most of our building is downtown.

We lost one of my middle school, R.E. Thompson. The roof blew off a bit. Back in Kentucky, officials already bracing for the next threat. We're going to get hit with more snow again while we're still dealing with this flood situation. It's going to be significant. And Shaquille Brewster is joining us now from hard hit Kentucky. And Shaq, a federal disaster declaration is now in place for the state. That's right, Hallie. And it opens up federal funding and FEMA assistance for areas like this that have been impacted by the storm.

And it's also notable because President Trump just recently said that the agency could, quote, go away under his leadership. Hallie. Shaq Brewster, thank you. This storm now creating flight delays in some spots. Maya Eaglin is following that for us at Newark Airport. And Maya, problems tonight as people brace for what's ahead the rest of the week, right? That's right, Hallie. That severe weather is having a huge impact on airline travel today. More than 8000 flights were delayed across the country and more than 1300 have been canceled. Most of those are coming from airports in the north, Boston, Logan, LaGuardia, New York.

And that's because these airports are having a really hard time dealing with the intense winds, snow and ice from this weekend's storm. But another system is brewing in the Pacific Northwest. That's going to make its way across the country, hitting the central plains Monday and the northeast by Wednesday, with the potential to bring freezing rain and heavy snow. Hallie. Maya Eaglin, thank you. Embattled New York City Mayor Eric Adams today pushing back hard against calls for him to resign, now saying he's not going anywhere. The mayor making those comments today while attending church services, according to The New York Times. Adams says he has a, quote, mission to finish his current term. The pressure on Adams coming as the Trump Justice Department

has ordered prosecutors to drop corruption charges against Adams. That led to multiple resignations from Justice Department prosecutors. Overseas tonight, Secretary of State Marco Rubio is in Israel ahead of critical negotiations over Russia's invasion of Ukraine and President Trump's new revelation about his team's talks with Vladimir Putin. Yamiche Alcindor has more. Tonight, President Trump revealing that his team spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin for hours, ahead of high-stakes talks to end the war in Ukraine. I think he wants to end it, and they want to end it fast, both of them. And Zelensky wants to end it too.

The president adding that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will be involved in the negotiations. But Zelensky says he hasn't been invited to the first round of talks. Two U.S. officials telling NBC News the White House wants to host separate meetings before bringing Russia and Ukraine together. Zelensky sitting down with NBC's Kristen Walker. Can you accept any peace deal that is cut without Ukraine? No. And do you feel like you have a seat at the table right now? I not only count on it,

I'm sure that we have to be there. On his first trip to Israel as Secretary of State, Marco Rubio saying the Ukraine talks set to take place in Saudi Arabia are a starting point. Vladimir Putin expressed his interest in peace and the president expressed his desire to see an end to this conflict in a way that was enduring and that protected Ukrainian sovereignty. The secretary is expected to attend, in addition to the president's Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, who has been speaking with Putin after helping to broker the Gaza ceasefire deal. White House National Security Advisor Mike Waltz will also attend. He has laid out four priorities

driving the negotiations, a permanent end to the war, a diplomatic end to the war, economic integration, and changes to U.S. aid for Ukraine. And in terms of long term military security guarantees, those have to be European led. Questions remain about whether Ukraine will be expected to give up some of its territory seized by Russia. Maybe Russia will give up a lot. Maybe they won't. Still to come for us tonight, we are on the ground at the epicenter of a measles outbreak in Texas. Why health officials are so concerned about where they're finding new cases. But first, a dramatic rescue at sea after this huge tanker ship runs aground. We're going

to show it to you next. Back now with new video of a dramatic rescue at sea. Take a look at this. This huge cargo ship losing power. It ran ashore off Newfoundland in Canada. You see those waves. Look at those slamming against the side of the ship, pinning it against the rocks. The Canadian Coast Guard deployed helicopters to rescue the crew. All 20 people on board were airlifted to safety. Here at home, new concerns tonight about a fast-growing measles spike in Texas, with the number of cases in one community doubling in just a matter of days. And now, experts worry this very contagious disease may be spreading in an outbreak that could last for months. Our Erica Edwards has made her way to Gaines County. Tonight, there is growing concern about measles spreading fast in this West Texas community. So far, mostly hitting unvaccinated kids in religious Mennonite communities. This mother and her eight children, some of whom were coughing and had a fever,

got tested this week at a mobile site in the outbreak's epicenter, Gaines County. We have a high number of unvaccinated. They just don't believe in it. Confirmed cases of measles, one of the most contagious viruses on the planet, more than doubling here in a single week from 24 to 49. 13 kids hospitalized so far. But many people aren't getting tested. Health officials on the ground believe the true number of measles cases is as high as two to three hundred and already spreading to nearby Lubbock, less than two hours away. So are people here in Lubbock already being exposed to measles? Yes. So communities who don't vaccinate are not necessarily isolated to their area. The outbreak comes as Robert F. Kennedy Jr. takes over as head

of the Department of Health and Human Services. During recent Senate testimony, he suggested a pause on studying infectious diseases like measles. The growing outbreak is worrisome to families in Lubbock like Ben Ham and Karina Perez, whose 18-month- is vaccinated, but has a weak immune system. She was diagnosed medically fragile that in her first year, she got RSV and was in the ICU. And just last winter, she got a common cold and we were in the ICU again. A simple cold can land her in the ICU. Absolutely, yes. It was a simple cold that did land her in the ICU the last time.

A family on edge in a region at the center of this fast-moving measles outbreak. Erica Edwards, NBC News, Gaines County, Texas. But up next here, there is good news tonight about Scrim the Dog and how he's been able to bring much of New Orleans together. There's good news tonight about a very good boy taking New Orleans and the internet by storm. An escaped pup named Scrim, now kind of an icon in the city, which has come together to find him and honor him. This little guy might as well be called Mischief. But his actual name is Scrim, a tiny pup finally safe with Zeus' Rescue's founder, Michelle Cherami, after an adventure that had Scrim on the lam in New Orleans twice in the past year. I think we all see ourselves in him a little bit.

We're running from something. We're running to something. Scrim's most recent escape? Busting out a second-story screen window in November, then slipping out of the gate, all of it captured on camera. That's absolutely Scrim. Michelle putting out an all-call-for-help online. No, no Scrim, no.

That's when Scrim went viral. People online tracking Scrim's location on a map, reporting sightings on doorbell and wildlife cams. That's him. Scrim even surviving this winter's big Louisiana snowstorm. When you started seeing that Scrim was going viral, when you started seeing all the attention Scrim was getting online in this search, what went through your mind? I actually didn't believe it was true at first.

One of the videos, one of them had over a million views. And I'm like, are you kidding me? All of these people are just sending me texts day and night just supporting me in my efforts and saying wow what can i do to help you how can i help he's right there hi baby the videos showing scrims shenanigans across the city residents would set up these grids at night where they would sit out on street corners in their cars just waiting for him to pass by so that they can text me and let me know where he was.

People wanted to see him safe. From signs to statues, the pups time on the run bringing this city together. Oh my God, oh my God, it's scrim. But they still couldn't catch him until last week when Michelle finally got something she'd been praying for, a text reading, caught Scrimm. And to be here talking to you and holding him in my arms is just amazing. It's everything. Yeah, I can tell it's emotional for you.

It is very emotional. I've never seen Scrimm in real life. I love you. A reminder of the power of community and strength for a city that has seen so much. What does Scrim mean to New Orleans? I think, you know, he is New Orleans. He went up against so many big things, but somehow pulled through and survived. And I mean, that's New Orleans. We know how to get through something and do it well. And so does he. While Scrim has been in the temporary care of Michelle, he has now found his forever home. He'll be heading there soon. That's nightly news for this Sunday, but stay right there. The SNL 50 red carpet is up next, followed by the big special at eight o'clock right here on NBC. I'm Hallie Jackson. For all of us here at NBC News, thanks so much for watching and have a great week.