NBC Nightly News with Tom Llamas - Thursday, June 20, 2024

Episode Date: June 21, 2024

Widespread flooding in South Texas after Alberto makes landfall; Suspect wanted in multiple murders captured in Arkansas; Power issues disrupt train service in New York area; and more on tonight’s broadcast.

Tonight, tropical storm Alberto turning deadly as it slams Texas with heavy rain and flooding. The remnants of Alberto over Mexico after making landfall there and killing at least four. The heavy rain and storm surge flooding the Texas coast. It comes as brutal heat refuses to let up, 65 million on alert. And in New Mexico, the massive dust storms and deadly wildfires burning out of control. Also tonight, the manhunt for a suspect wanted for multiple murders in two states where he was caught today. A close call for a southwest plane triggering urgent warnings after descending to just 500 feet over a suburb. Why was it so low?

The train chaos in the northeast, why Amtrak service was suspended from Philadelphia to Connecticut. The first debate just one week away. New details on the Biden-Trump showdown, where they'll be positioned on stage, and who will get the last word. The new warning about popular weight loss drugs, the dangerous counterfeits on the market and saving the whales. The nearly 3,000 mile mission to rescue two majestic belugas from Ukraine's war zone. This is NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt. Good evening and welcome everyone. The broiling heat in the east, a flooded Texas coast, and now the potential for new tropical weather threats forming on the distant horizon, all making for a volatile start to summer. After several days,

that heat dome sitting over the northeast is still making life miserable for 65 million people from the Ohio Valley to New England. Temperatures once again climbing into the upper 90s and challenging record highs. While some 1,800 miles away, residents of southeast Texas are trying to dry on from a brush with what was Tropical Storm Alberto. The storm turned deadly after striking Mexico, while high tides and onshore winds are still causing coastal flooding. But there is no rest for the weary. Weather watchers tracking two more areas of possible storm development, including one that could take aim at that same part of Texas by early next week. Sam Brock is there. And Sam, what's the situation right now? Yeah, Lester, the situation right now, a flood advisory is still in effect here for another day, even as the water has receded Lester tremendously.

And yet, look at all that is left here on the street. It spans the entire thing, covering properties on both sides, as those who live here are just waiting for a reprieve. On the first day of summer, it's fire and rain across America, with Surfside Beach, Texas still soaked from the far sweep of Tropical Storm Alberto, which made landfall in Mexico earlier today. It's really weird looking out your living room window and just seeing water. Yeah, everywhere. Everywhere. Driving around this Texas town, you see palm trees protruding from pools of water and vacationers perched on decks like Erica Fine, unable to retrieve her car. We're waiting for high tide to go down to drive through.

So current status is trapped? Yeah, yeah. We're just a little bit stranded. The storm leaving a wake of damage along Texas's coastline with a tornado ripping this roof in Rockport. It was hollowed. While floodwaters remain in Surfside Beach. We thought everything was going to be clearing up pretty good this morning, but about 530 high tide hit and the storm surge came back in

and we were right back to where we were yesterday. Record-breaking heat elsewhere in the U.S., living up to the term summer solstice. Brutal. Very, very hot. Some schools have had to postpone classes as 65 million bake in high 90s and triple digit temps. In Bangor, Maine, the heat index climbing to 106, while a combination of flames and dust storms called a haboob have wreaked havoc in New Mexico. Tonight, the White House approving a major disaster declaration. Now, with rain on the way, flooding concerns around the burn scars. The country's patience for trying conditions being tested,

even as some take solace in how their neighbors and first responders are coming together. This little community here really stays in touch in times of need like this. Sam Brock, NBC News, Surfside Beach, Texas. All right, let's bring in Al Roker. Al, you're looking at severe weather, also some concerns in the tropics. Yeah, absolutely, Lester. In fact, we've got two areas we're watching, one off the southeastern Atlantic coast. But we're most concerned about this development zone in the Gulf Coast, where we could see more heavy rain bringing to that same area, another three to five inches of rain in southern Texas, causing more flooding.

This evening, 15 million people at risk from the Rockies all the way to the northeast. Strong storms firing up, could see isolated tornadoes, winds, and hail. And the heat continues. If you're south of this front, Washington, Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, triple digits possible. Whereas Green Bay, Buffalo, Burlington into the weekend. And Boston will see much cooler temperatures with lower humidity. Lester. All right, Al, thank you.

A multi-state manhunt is over tonight with the man of interest in a string of murders under arrest in Arkansas. Priya Shrader has late details. Tonight, a convicted felon and suspected killer is in custody after evading law enforcement in multiple states for weeks. If you look at his criminal history, he was continuously escalating his violent behavior. Before being arrested today, police say 50-year-old Stacey Lee Drake was last seen on surveillance video Tuesday outside of an Arkansas Motel 6. Arkansas State Police, who are leading the investigation, say Drake is connected to crimes across several states.

In Oklahoma, police say he's a person of interest in last week's murder and carjacking of Philip Emerson. He's also wanted in connection to two murders at a gas station about 200 miles away. In Alabama, the Tuscaloosa County Sheriff is now revealing Drake is a suspect in a murder they too are investigating. They say he was there for a few weeks using a fake name when he shot and killed Russell Andrews last month. His son, Russell Jr., says he was beloved. Very kind and passionate person. He was very selfless. Drake has an extensive criminal history spanning decades and multiple states that include convictions for robberies, carjackings and assault.

Tonight, he's off the streets and behind bars. I can sleep better at night knowing that, you know, he's not going to hurt anybody else. Priya Shrether, NBC News. Tonight, the FAA is investigating why a Southwest Airlines plane flew very low over a suburb of Oklahoma City, triggering low altitude alerts in the control tower. Tom Costello covers aviation for us. Tom, do we understand what happened here? It's starting to become clear.

Flight 4069 from Las Vegas was approaching Oklahoma City Airport at about 1230 a.m. local time. But at eight miles out, FlightAware and FlightRadar24 show the plane at an altitude of just 525 feet, flying over the top of Yukon, Oklahoma, with some people there thinking the plane would hit their homes. It triggered a low altitude warning in the control tower. The tower radioed the pilot, asking if everything was okay. He replied, yes. Then a board of the landing went around and safely landed on a different runway. But NBC News aviation experts say this plane was very low and very slow. Southwest tells NBC it's in contact with the FAA to understand and address any irregularities with

the aircraft's approach to the airport, insisting safety is Southwest's top priority. Luster? All right, Tom Costello with that. Thank you. And a major disruption of rail service in one of the nation's busiest travel hubs. Brian Chung is at New York's Penn Station tonight. Brian, what's the latest from there? Lester, hundreds of thousands of passengers pass through Penn Station daily. It's one of the busiest rail hubs in the world. But this afternoon, two key train services had to be suspended.

New Jersey Transit and Amtrak due to power issues for the second time this week. Both Amtrak and New Jersey Transit say service has now resumed, but the outage, which Amtrak says was due to a malfunctioning circuit breaker and exacerbated by a brush fire in northern New Jersey that impacted wire repairs, highlights the sensitivity of the infrastructure system here. As you can see, there are still massive delays listed on the board here. Cancel, cancel, cancel. And the high temperatures are also a factor. Amtrak has warned the extreme heat before its trains to operate more slowly on the tracks. Lester.

All right, Brian Chung, thank you. Now to the race for the White House and the battle over viral videos intensifying one week from the first debate. And there are new details about that debate. Gabe Gutierrez joins us now. Gabe, what do we know? Hey there, Lester. After winning a coin toss, President Biden picked the podium on the right side of the stage. And we now know former President Trump will deliver the final closing statement. And it comes after both campaigns are already doing battle online.

The video went viral faster than usual. President Biden at the G7 summit in Italy, surrounded by world leaders, appearing to wander off before being pulled back to the group by the Italian prime minister. In reality, another camera angle showed the president was actually trying to greet skydivers who just finished a demonstration. But the Republican National Committee and conservative media quickly amplified the first angle, falsely claiming the president was meandering. The Biden campaign is calling it a, quote, cheap fake. What is a cheap fake? Cheap fakes are these deceptively edited videos,

and they're a huge part of Donald Trump's campaign strategy. Rob Flaherty is Biden's deputy campaign manager who's overseeing the escalating digital war and slamming the Trump campaign, saying it's increasingly taking videos out of context. We have to be more aggressive about monitoring, about intervening, about taking action against it because it is just going to be such a centerpiece of how he's communicating. That G7 video is among a string of clips that some Republicans say raises concerns about President Biden's age and abilities. Tonight, the Trump campaign is arguing there's nothing wrong with highlighting videos that are not digitally altered, like this clip of President Biden standing still for several seconds on stage at a Hollywood fundraiser until former President

Obama leads him off stage. And another where he also stood still as people danced around him during a Juneteenth celebration. The White House says the president did not freeze in these incidents, but was enjoying the moments. Tonight, the Trump team telling us. The Biden campaign is trying to convince the American public not to believe their own eyes. We are simply posting these videos for the world to see and to come to their own conclusion on which the American public has. The Trump campaign argues the Biden team has taken the former president's words out of context. We're going to put a 100 percent tariff on every single car that comes across the line. Now, if I don't get elected, it's going to be a bloodbath.

By claiming that comment, refer it to political violence instead of economic pain. Then he said if he loses, it's going to be a bloodbath. It's called the bloodbath hoax, taking my words completely out of context. There's always been misinformation during campaigns, but this election cycle, cyber experts expect much more of it, including AI-generated deepfakes. Current and former officials tell NBC News that the FBI and Department of Homeland Security have no firm plan to alert the public about deepfakes or other false information during the 2024 election, unless it's clearly coming from a foreign actor and poses a sufficiently

grave threat. A digital battlefield raising questions about free speech, censorship, and partisan politics. Gabe Gutierrez, NBC News, Wilmington, Delaware. In 60 seconds, new warnings about fake ozempic and other hugely popular weight loss drugs. A health alert tonight involving those popular weight loss drugs. A health alert tonight involving those popular weight loss drugs. Officials warning some on the market may be dangerous counterfeits. Here's Anne Thompson. Weight loss drugs are now a global phenomenon. I went down four pant sizes. This country accounting for 71 percent of semaglutide sales, the active ingredient in Wagovi and Ozempic, a diabetes drug. But high demand breeds counterfeits that could jeopardize your health.

The World Health Organization warning tonight that it found fake batches of Ozempic in the U.S., U.K. and Brazil last year. It could have contaminants that could actually harm you. UC San Diego professor Tim Mackey and his team of researchers bought counterfeits of semaglutide online to find out what's being sold. And when we purchased six of these products from online pharmacies, three were scammers and another three sent us products that had questionable quality safety issues associated with them. And so if somebody had taken any of these drugs, could they have ended up in the hospital or ill from the drugs? Yeah. So patients, one, could have been scammed out of thousands of dollars. And two, they could have taken a product that had too much

semaglutide in them and could have been injured from that as well. Lily also warning tonight about fake versions of terzepatide, the active ingredient in Winjaro and Zepbound. It's diabetes and weight loss drugs. Lilly says it does not sell these drugs on social media and warns illegal online pharmacies selling fakes put people at risk. Now, the makers of these drugs stress they are the only manufacturers and there are no generics. To make sure you're getting the real thing, get a prescription from a licensed doctor and get it filled at a licensed pharmacy. Lester.

OK, man, thank you. Up next for us tonight, smooth sailing or rough seas? What we can learn about the economy aboard a working schooner. This summer travel season, Americans are spending more than ever on the road in the skies. And as Christine Romans reports on the sea. Aboard the schooner Stephen Tabor, which set sail from Rockland, Maine, the summer is completely booked. Captain Noah Barnes, like his parents before him, ushering in guests.

Welcome aboard the Stephen Tabor. We're going to have a great time. Vacationers pay just over $300 a night to eat, drink, and sleep aboard. Two, six, team! And pitch in. Hoist the stage riser! We've got pilots, and we've got lab techs, and we've got plumbers, and we've got cable installers. It's everybody. So business is good.

So business is good. Americans' summer travel budgets are up, up 18% overall from last year, and travelers are hungry for experiences. My cell phone went off and just got thrown into the cabin, and it was just wonderful. Below deck. Today I'll be cooking breakfast for about 26 people, including crew. And, yeah, just another morning in paradise. Chef Gray Lideker serves it up. We're having blueberry Dutch baby. We're having a maple sausage that is from a small farm in Iowa.

What's this job like? Well, it's basically cooking all day long inside of a shaking box. You must love boats. Yes, yes. The prerequisite for the job is must love boats. Vendors, please. For Captain Barnes, rising costs are a challenge he has to pass on to passengers. I don't worry about our product. I worry about staffing. I worry about the cost of materials. Do customers balk at the higher prices or they're still coming?

We haven't seen a dip. I don't think we've met the place where people are resistant to pay it, but we don't want to find that spot. To maintain crew, he has raised wages. Even still, Chef Gray and several deckhands live aboard when they aren't sailing, housing costs on the mainland out of reach. I couldn't find anything. It was phenomenally expensive. So staying on the boat just made economic sense. Gray sleeps here, under the stairs.

You can learn a lot about today's economy aboard a 115-foot wooden schooner built when Ulysses Grant was president. Finish the sentence for me. The American economy is... Seems to be doing just fine from where we're sitting. Well, there's something about this experience, being outside, being in good company, sort of reminds people the important things. It's good company, there's good food, there's cool boats. A contrast on deck for so many affordability a challenge, even while travel and leisure are booming. Christine Romans, NBC News, Rockland, Maine. And up next for us here tonight, the daring mission to ferry gentle giants of the sea to safety.

Finally, with fighting raging in Ukraine, we want to tell you the story of a daring mission to rescue two majestic animals from the war zone. Here's Andrea Mitchell. The Russian offensive is in full force in Kharkiv, the local aquarium at risk, home to two beluga whales, 15-year-old Plombir and 14-year-old Miranda. The battle was closing in. Whale food, fresh squid, herring, and mackerel increasingly scarce.

Caregivers knew they had to get them out of the war zone. Were you afraid that you and the whales would come under attack. Certainly the risk of, you know, rockets and things, it was on our mind, you know, for sure. The challenge, how do you move two 1,500-pound whales in 20,000-pound tanks almost 3,000 miles to their new home in Spain? Very carefully. The Ukrainians, with experts from the Georgia Aquarium, SeaWorld, and Oceanographic de Valencia, came up with a plan from Ukraine to Spain, with caregivers calming them down along the

way. Are Plumber and Miranda friends? Are they even a couple? Can I be so bold as to ask? I mean, it's an adult male and adult female. They seem very bonded, very close. How do you feel now that you've accomplished this, Daniel? Taking these animals out of the war is probably one of the life experiences that I put in my grandkids. Now safe in their new habitat and looking happy. Andrea Mitchell, NBC News, Washington. And that is nightly news for this Thursday. Thank you for watching. I'm Lester Holt. Please take care of yourself and each other. Good night.