NBC Nightly News with Tom Llamas - Sunday, July 28, 2024

Episode Date: July 29, 2024

Simone Biles’ dazzling comeback in an action-packed Olympics Day 2; Nation’s largest active wildfire ravages California; Israel retaliates at Hezbollah for attack that killed 12 children and teens; and more on tonight’s broadcast.

Tonight, live from Paris, as some of the biggest stars of the Games begin competition, including Simone Biles and her triumphant return. The star gymnast back on the mat with a stunning routine, launching her Olympic comeback. And despite an injury, Biles limping and hopping, but sticking her landings. We'll get the update tonight from her coach. The American women going gold-silver in the pool, separated by only four one-hundredths of a second. Coco Gauff wins in straight sets. And how LeBron James led a team of all-stars to their first victory.

Back home, the year's biggest wildfire now burning 350,000 acres. This national park evacuated. Now smoke from western fires is traveling as far east as New England. Israel vows major retaliation inside Lebanon after a dozen children were killed inside Israeli territory. There's a new front in the war about to open. Dramatic rescue the moment the Coast Guard spotted these two scuba divers after they were lost at sea for 36 hours with no boat. NBC News exclusive, how Google is using AI

to beat one major city's notoriously bad traffic. Can it help your commute? And back here at the Olympics, my inside look at how they make the medals. The winner is bringing a piece of Paris home with them. This is NBC Nightly News. Reporting tonight from the Olympics in Paris, here is Lester Holt. Good evening and welcome from Paris. An exciting first weekend of the 2024 Games where Simone Biles shrugged off a painful injury and delivered in spectacular form in the gymnastics qualifying rounds.

Writing an early new chapter in her comeback story, and leaving Team USA well-positioned in the race for gold. Biles bounced right back with no plans to leave the competition, and American swimmers demonstrated their true grit today. Teammates Gretchen Walsh and Tori Husk swimming to a photo finish in the 100-meter butterfly, a 1-2 finish, earning Husk the gold, silver for Walsh. While the home crowd went wild here after French swimmer Leon Marchand swam to gold in the 400-meter individual medley.

Tom Yamas has the latest on a big day here in Paris. It's official. Simone Biles is back. Today, leading the American women to a first place finish in qualifiers for the team event before a crowd that included Tom Cruise, Lady Gaga and Ariana Grande. Biles looking confident and solid despite tweaking her left calf leaving the floor to have it wrapped she continued on though she appeared to limp at times. Her coach, later saying Biles, first felt pain there a couple of weeks ago, adding she was

never in danger of dropping out and was already feeling better by her last event. Biles also securing a spot in the all-around final. She'll be joined by teammate Suni Lee, who won the event in Tokyo. There we go. In the pool, a thrilling 1-2 victory for Team USA in the 100-meter butterfly. Tori Husk, besting teammate Gretchen Walsh by just four hundredths of a second. That's Husk who gets in there! When you touched the wall and you realized you guys were 1-2, what did you think? It was crazy. That's how Scoot gets in there. When you touched the wall and you realized you guys were one and two, what did you think?

It was crazy. I mean, I've been, like, dreaming of this moment for a long time now. So, like, to be up there and to win that race and then to do it with Gretchen for Team USA, like, it was just, it's unbelievable. The Americans celebrating together. I think, like, it's a dream come true to even be on that podium. And in the 400 IM. You hear that? That's the French swimmer, Leon Marchand.

For the French, he's their face at these Olympics. Marchand, lightning fast, taking gold, while American Carson Foster won bronze. How do you feel? You're a medal winner at the Olympics. Man, it's definitely not gonna hit today or tomorrow, but just soaking in the environment, I mean, I've dreamed about this my whole life. But there was no swimming in the Seine today. Triathlon training canceled because of poor water quality.

Organizers say they're still confident it will be safe enough for competition this week. At Place de la Concorde, the first medals in skateboarding. The podium? All teenagers. The gold medalist from Japan, just 14 years old. In tennis, Rafael Nadal got a standing ovation as he entered the court, while Coco Gauff made her Olympic debut. So did Team USA's men's basketball team.

LeBron James, Steph Curry and Kevin Durant tipping off against Serbia with a decisive 110-84 win. And in mountain biking, the best ever finish for Team USA, thanks to Utah's Haley Batten, who took silver. Today, Haley Batten makes history for Team USA. The whole cycling community made this possible today, so it's crazy. Tom, I hear a lot of emotions playing out through this place. USA. The whole cycling community made this possible today, so it's crazy. Thomas, here are a lot of emotions playing out through this place.

Let's talk about women's soccer. U.S. women just wrapped up a match. Yeah, they are. Remember, Lester, this team is young, but they're hungry, and they're playing great soccer. They just beat Germany 4-1, so they're 2-0, likely headed to the next round. All right, Tom Yamas, thank you. And you can watch all the women's gymnastics performances and much more tonight right here on NBC, starting atas, thank you. And you can watch all the women's gymnastics performances

and much more tonight right here on NBC starting at 7 p.m. Eastern time. We'll also have more from the Olympics later in our broadcast. But first, the day's other breaking news, a massive California wildfire growing tonight, a fast moving disaster so big you can see it from space. And it's even impacting air quality across the country. Steve Patterson reports from Northern California. Tonight, the nation's largest active wildfire is quickly growing and showing no sign of slowing down. The Park Fire, now more than 350,000 acres, quickly becoming one of the largest in California history. Nearly 4,000 firefighters battling the flames, swirling into fire tornadoes, chewing unchecked through dozens of homes in Northern California.

What started as a small brush fire is now a sprawling behemoth, burning through thousands of acres every hour. Lassen National Park closed, posting this eerie photo of smoke-filled skies and evacuating campers. New satellite images capture the fire's exponential growth, spawning vast, expanding clouds of smoke. The Park Fire is among nearly 90 active fires consuming the West, plummeting air quality, sending plumes of smoke seen as far east as New Hampshire. The evacuation zone covering the town of Paradise, devastated by the campfire six years ago, the deadliest and most destructive wildfire in California history that took the home of volunteer firefighter Craig Kiel.

Moved up here because we just love living in the woods. Now I guess I can guess that, but I still will. I'll do it again. Lance and Patricia Conlon are one of thousands of families forced to flee. We were both survivors of the campfire. It took us six hours to get out, so we didn't want to experience that again. It wears on our community. There is so much trauma. Survivors from a terrible legacy of fire riding yet another one out. We, by the grace of God, survived both incidents

and we'll survive this one. And thankfully, the weather here is cooperating, allowing firefighters to get some level of containment on this fire, now up to 12 percent. But with how big this fire is and how much fuel there is left to burn, the nation's largest fire is expected to get even larger. Lester. All right, Steve Patterson, thank you. Tensions in the Middle East are reaching a new high. Israel today vowing a major retaliation, accusing the terrorist group Hezbollah of killing 12 children at a soccer field inside Israeli territory. American diplomats worry escalation could lead to a new front in the war to Israel's north.

Megan Fitzgerald reports. Tonight, dangers of a new war front breaking out after yesterday's deadly rocket attack on civilians in the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights, more than 100 miles from Gaza. Overnight, Israel launching retaliatory strikes deep within Lebanon against Hezbollah, the Iranian-backed militant group there, saying they hit a series of targets Overnight, Israel launching retaliatory strikes deep within Lebanon against Hezbollah, the Iranian-backed militant group there, saying they hit a series of targets, including weapons and infrastructure. Israel's defense minister saying today they will pay a heavy price for their actions.

Hezbollah denying responsibility for the attack on a crowded soccer field. Today, thousands of mourners attended the joint funeral for the victims. Among the 12 children and teens killed yesterday was 13-year-old John Ibrahim. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu landed in Israel earlier today after rushing back from his trip to the U.S. We stand by Israel's right to defend its citizens from terrorist attacks. We also don't want to see the conflict escalate. We don't want to see it spread. Early Saturday, the IDF says they launched missiles on a school in central Gaza, killing some 36 people, including 15 children, according to hospital officials.

Now the race to reach a ceasefire deal becoming even more dire as the temperature in the region continues to rise. Megan Fitzgerald, NBC News. In the U.S. today marks 100 days until the presidential election. The campaign's trying out new attack lines on their opponents and we could be days away from Vice President Harris announcing her running mate. Ali Rafa reports. Tonight, just one week after President Biden dropped out, the 2024 race entering a critical new phase. With Vice President Harris and former President Trump launching new attacks. We have a brand new victim. And honestly, she's a radical left lunatic. Some of what he and his running mate are saying, well, it's just plain weird.

Harris's surrogates echoing that message. He is clearly older and stranger than he was when America first got to know him. The Harris campaign says it raised $200 million in just one week, as a new poll shows Harris riding that momentum with an eight-point boost in her favorability, with Mr. Trump's rating down four points. Harris also getting an enthusiasm bump from 49 percent of independents, compared to 31 percent for Mr. Trump. Meanwhile, the search for her running mate is heating up. NBC News has confirmed the Harris campaign is considering at least eight candidates,

with Arizona Senator Mark Kelly, Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, and North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper viewed as top picks. Others on her short list mum about the process and whether they would accept an offer. I'm not going to talk about that. I would do what is in the best interest of the country. Ali joins us now from the White House. Ali, it could be, as we noted, just a matter of days before we learn who Harris chooses as a running mate. That's right. The Harris campaign is squeezing a vetting process that usually takes months into less than three weeks. And we're expecting a decision by no later than August 7th. Lester.

Ali Rafa, thank you. There were protests across the country today for Sonia Massey. Mourners from New York to Illinois, Virginia and Kentucky remembered her with vigils and prayers and growing calls for justice. Sonia Massey was the unarmed black woman shot and killed in her home this month by an Illinois sheriff's deputy with a record of allegations of misconduct on the job. He has since been charged for Massey's fatal shooting and fired from the force. Still ahead, the new traffic fighting technology, how Google is working to cut your commute using artificial intelligence. Also, the secrets behind the making of the Olympic medals.

We're back with an astonishing rescue for two scuba divers lost at sea. This is Coast Guard video showing the search for the pair off the coast of Texas. See those white flashes? That's them, finally found and saved after about 36 hours. They had no boat, only each other. Loved ones of the couple are calling the rescue a miracle. Now to an NBC News exclusive about a high-tech solution for preventing traffic jams. Google teaming up with cities worldwide to use AI to stop gridlock before it begins. Stephen Romo has the story.

Boston is notorious for bumper-to-bumper traffic, leaving Beantown drivers fed up. Boston has the fourth worst traffic in the country. Drivers here can spend, on average, nearly 90 hours a year, almost four days stuck in the country. Drivers here can spend on average nearly 90 hours a year, almost four days stuck behind the wheel. The national average is more than 50 hours. Nobody likes being stuck in traffic,

so the city of Boston is teaming up with Google to try to make sure their drivers hit more green lights. It's called Project Green Light, which in part uses artificial intelligence to monitor traffic patterns and then come up with solutions to improve traffic flow. Mateus Vervloet is a product manager with Google. MATEUS VERVLOET, You know that great feeling when you hit two or three green lights in a row?

That's what we're trying to create with Green Light. We went to one of the intersections Project Green Light analyzed. What is AI actually doing to these lights? We're basically shifting a couple of seconds from one of the lights to the other one, right? And this prevents traffic from backing up. It may not seem like much, but a few seconds can mean the difference between getting a red light or getting green lights all the way. We're trying to create so-called green waves.

Yasha Franklin-Hodge is Boston's chief of streets. He showed us the city's traffic control room. Yeah, so this is the traffic management center. Here, engineers monitor the city's roads. Project Green Light makes suggestions to improve traffic flow, and the engineers then can implement those changes. Yasha says this will be a game changer. We think Green Project Greenlight

can be an important part of reducing delay in Boston. But it's not just here in Boston. Project Greenlight is already live in Seattle and in 12 other cities around the world, improving efficiency and cutting down time at stoplights. This saves time for drivers and has an added benefit for air quality. We see the potential for a reduction of up to 30% in the number of stops and 10% in emissions at affected intersections. Hoping to put the project in the fast lane, making a positive impact on the environment and frustrated drivers. Stephen Romo, NBC News, Boston. And we're back in a moment from the Paris Olympics,

why this American rugby player is now a social media star, plus my inside look at the fascinating story of how the Olympic medals are made. We are back from Paris with more of our Olympic coverage, including one of the game's social media stars. She's a rugby player from Vermont, inspiring followers with her empowering messages and unfiltered look at life at the Olympics. Savannah Sellers caught up with her and her family. I'm not going to get heat, heat, heat.

Rugby is not for the faint of heart. You have to be tough, powerful. You have to be like Alona Marr. It's just like, boom, you want some more? Watching the videos of your tackles and you being tackled, it's intense. Yeah, it is intense. And I think what I love about it is that our sport is the same roles for both men and women. I love that we're encouraged to be physical.

We met Alona and her gregarious family as they gathered at home in Vermont for the holidays. It was her rugby-playing dad who first inspired her to try the sport in high school. Sure enough, she played one game and we started getting calls. And here's a powerful run from Alona Ma. Fast forward to 2021, her first Olympics in Tokyo. What's it feel like when you just get to say the sentence, I'm an Olympian? I love it. I try to use it to get myself free things. I wear the rings proudly because I worked very hard for it. I don't think

we should diminish how hard we've worked. I'm here at the Tokyo Olympics and I'm going to test out the cardboard beds for y'all. You can understand why she became the toast of TikTok. Look at me. Look at the way I'm rocking this. Sharing unvarnished takes on life in the Olympic Village. I don't know what Olympic TikTok has done to you, but I'm hyped for women's rugby sevens this year. Doing it again in Paris. A little crazy to use my perfect body type as the mannequin. I knew that if I kept this up, got people watching me on TikTok,

they'd also tune into my sport. She's since racked up a million plus followers and often uses her massive platform to empower women. I have cellulite everywhere. It is completely normal. Sharing deeply vulnerable moments. Remember, your body is perfect. Big, small, tall, short. Whatever body you're in, that's the body of a woman.

I didn't really see a lot of my body type in media. I'm a very big, muscular woman. I just want to keep doing it for them, for the girls who message me like, oh, you've made me feel so good about myself. She's got quite a fan club at home, too. It's an overwhelming feeling of pride. If I'm having a conversation with a new person, I'm like, all right, how soon can I bring up that my sister is an Olympian? Above all, that pride is what drives Alona Mar. I want to continue to make them proud. I love that they can say that, oh, Alona Mar is my sister.

Alona Mar is my daughter. Savannah Sellers, NBC News, Burlington, Vermont. And when we come back, metal masterpieces, our behind-the-scenes look at how those stunning Olympic medals are made. Finally tonight, making those stunning Olympic medals, the athletes who win here will each go home with much more than memories. They'll also leave with a piece of the city's most iconic landmark. It's the moment every Olympic athlete dreams of. The culmination of years of work, a medal around their neck, a forever reminder of the moment they

were among the best in the world. They've been an Olympic staple for more than a century. This collection on display in Paris for the Games dates back to 1896, but there was one big difference back then. There's only two of those medals right now. Why? Because it was originally just a silver and a bronze. There was never a plan for a gold. There was never a plan for gold in 1896. However, in 1900, in the Paris Games, they introduced the gold medal. But it wasn't gold. It was gilt silver. The gold, silver, and bronze winners here will carry a piece of Paris with them forever, an original piece of iron from the Eiffel Tower embedded in each medal. They were designed by iconic Parisian jewelry designer Chaumet. And we want to welcome them of course and we want them to to go back home with perhaps which is the most precious thing for

us so this is really an honor for us. The iron saved during renovations. We asked the Eiffel Tower where was those pieces and we they gave pieces and they gave them to us. Even the ribbons designed to mirror the lattice on the tower. The medal was to represent Paris, Paris, Ville Lumière. The ultimate souvenir from the Paris 2024 Games. To get to an Olympic level, you really are the best of the world. And then to win a medal, there's no other larger moment. That is NBC Nightly News for this Sunday.

Stay with us for our primetime Olympic coverage starting at 7 p.m. Eastern and 7 p.m. Pacific. I'm Lester Holt. We'll see you back here tomorrow night from Paris. Please take care of yourself and each other.m. Pacific. I'm Lester Holt. We'll see you back here tomorrow night from Paris. Please take care of yourself and each other. Good night.