NBC Nightly News with Tom Llamas - Thursday, September 19, 2024

Episode Date: September 20, 2024

North Carolina Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson denies reports of disturbing comments; Lebanon hit with Israeli airstrikes today following device explosions; One group's mission against underwater garbage; and more on tonight’s broadcast.

Tonight, the bombshell report on a Republican candidate for governor and the disturbing comments he allegedly made on an adult website. Mark Robinson, the GOP nominee for governor in North Carolina, endorsed by Donald Trump, under fire. The report alleging he posted comments years ago on an adult forum referring to himself as a black Nazi and expressing support for slavery. His defiant video denying the report and vowing to stay in the race. And just in, the Kentucky judge fatally shot in his own courthouse chambers

what the governor is saying. Also tonight, Israel striking dozens of Hezbollah targets in Lebanon after those deadly attacks using exploding devices. He well as leaders speaking from a secret location calling the attacks an act of war. The race for the White House, Kamala Harris bringing in the star power, holding a campaign event with Oprah Winfrey, and Donald Trump after pushing false claims about Haitian migrants in Springfield, Ohio, now vowing to visit the city. Our NBC News investigation, the medical school that profited off leasing out unclaimed bodies for research, one woman's fight to get back her fiance's remains,

and what has happened since our first report, and the group of seniors diving in to keep Cape Cod clean. This is NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt. Good evening and welcome. Scandal tonight rocking the governor's race in politically consequential North Carolina. Republican candidate and conservative firebrand Mark Robinson tonight facing calls to drop out of the race after a CNN report today linked Robinson to a series of inflammatory online remarks, including, according to CNN, referring to himself as a black Nazi and writing in support of reinstating slavery. But Robinson is strongly denying making the comments and says he is staying in the race.

We have to warn you, much of the reporting in this story is graphic in nature. The cable network saying the remarks were posted on a porn website over a decade ago, linked by a single username. NBC News has not verified the authenticity of the posts. Robinson calling the report tabloid trash, as some Republicans are speaking out against him. Laura Jarrett has the latest. Their children's destiny, whether it be...

Tonight, Republican candidate Mark Robinson vowing to stay in the race for governor in North Carolina, vehemently denying an explosive new report, purporting to show dozens of his disturbing comments online. They want to focus on salacious tabloid lies. We're not going to let them do that. We are staying in this race. We are in it to win. The current lieutenant governor facing a swirl of speculation about the fate of his campaign after CNN Today published what it called a series of inflammatory comments on a pornography website's message board more than a decade ago, before Robinson began his political career. NBC News has not verified the authenticity of the post. CNN says include Robinson referring to himself as a black Nazi and expressing support for reinstating slavery, writing slavery is not bad.

Some people need to be slaves. I wish they would bring it back. I would certainly buy a few. CNN also reporting Robinson, who publicly supports a six-week ban on abortion with exceptions, wrote that he did not care if a celebrity got an abortion, writing, quote, I don't care. I just want to see the sex tape. CNN says the comments were all made under the same username and that Robinson used it elsewhere on the Internet, including product reviews on Amazon. But tonight, Robinson blasting it as tabloid trash. Let me reassure you, the things that you will see in that story,

those are not the words of Mark Robinson. You know my words, you know my character, and you know that I have been completely transparent in this race and before. No stranger to polarizing comments, Robinson has come under scrutiny in the past for calling the Holocaust hogwash, which he later said was a poorly worded remark that wasn't anti-Semitic. Come November, I plan on being the first black governor of North Carolina. He's a social conservative who's been endorsed by former President Trump. This is Martin Luther King on steroids. North Carolina, a battleground state in the presidential race,

but a tough one for Democrats who haven't won it since 2008. And Laura, the Trump campaign weighing in here tonight? Yes, Lester. The Trump campaign saying the former president is focused on winning North Carolina. Meanwhile, if Robinson were to get out of this race, he only has until 1159 tonight if Republicans have any hopes of replacing him as their nominee. All right, Laura Jarrett, thanks very much. We're going to turn now to some stunning news breaking out of Kentucky. Sam Brock

is following this story centered on a courthouse in Kentucky. Sam, a judge fatally shot tonight in the courthouse. Yeah, Lester, good evening. This is something that is extremely limited in terms of the information that we have right now and very jarring. So let's go through what we know. Kentucky's governor, Andy Beshear, confirming just a little while ago that a district judge in Letcher County, Kentucky, Lester, this is about a two and a half hours southeast of Lexington, was shot and killed in his chambers. Now, the coroner in this case has confirmed his identity as Kevin Mullins, who was appointed back in 2009. He was a prosecutor for a decade prior to that.

The question right now is what exactly transpired. We don't know. We are out to Letcher County for more information. We do know, however, Lester, that a Kentucky state trooper has confirmed that one person is in custody. They will not confirm who that is at this hour. All right. Sam Brock. Sam, thanks.

Israel on the offensive against Hezbollah today, launching conventional military attacks from the air in southern Lebanon, still on edge after deadly waves of booby-trapped pagers and handheld radios exploded earlier this week, targeting their Hezbollah owners. Kir Simons is there. Israeli air and artillery strikes pounding southern Lebanon today, targeting Hezbollah as the leader of the Iran-backed militia appeared from a secret location, vowing revenge for two days of unprecedented attacks. 5,000 pages and walkie-talkies were booby-trapped by Israel, he said. Calling it a massacre in minutes. The number killed

rising today to 37 according to Lebanese health officials and thousands more wounded Israel has not said it was them airlines today banning pages and walkie talkies from flights out of Beirut. And images like this. Children close to an explosion in a grocer's, emerging amid accusations of international law violations. Among those killed, nine-year-old Fatima Abdullah. We have 12 operating rooms and all our teams are exhausted.

Dr. Salah Zaladin at the Beirut Medical Center has been treating a heavy stream of those injured by the explosions. Most of the patients are very sick, injuries to the eyes, to the hands. The synchronized assassination was clearly long in the planning. Masterminded by Israel, two U.S. officials tell NBC News, a clandestine trail of companies from Hungary to Taiwan to Japan denying involvement. But one former senior Israeli official tonight now says the timing was not part of a wider escalation, saying the chance to detonate the devices was slipping away, a use it or lose it situation. Tonight, Iran promising a crushing response and the U.S. Secretary of State

in Paris trying to de-escalate the conflict. The population in both northern Israel and southern Lebanon has had to flee their homes and we all want to see them be able to go back to their homes and that requires a secure environment. And tonight, Israel says it has arrested an Iranian agent aiming to kill its senior leadership. The potential for an all out war still feels very real here. Lester. All right, Keir Simmons in Beirut. Thank you. Now to the race for the White House, the fight over key battleground states ramping up with Vice President Harris bringing extra star power onto the campaign trail. Here's Gabe Gutierrez. Tonight, Vice President Harris bringing extra star power onto the campaign trail. Here's Gabe Gutierrez. Tonight, Vice President Harris once again in the critical swing state of Michigan,

this time getting a celebrity boost from Oprah Winfrey at a live streamed event. What we are hoping is going to be one great big giant voter rally. Just weeks after the TV icon's high wattage endorsement at the Democratic National Convention. Let's all choose Kamala Harris. And with in-person early voting beginning in several states tomorrow, a new poll showing just how tight this race is. Harris and former President Trump tied at 47 percent nationally. And in the key state of Pennsylvania, Harris has a slim lead within the margin of error. Meanwhile, the former president overnight looking to boost Republican congressional candidates,

making a pitch in deep blue New York. With terrorists and criminals pouring in and with inflation eating your hearts out, vote for Donald Trump. What the hell do you have to lose? While Harris has attacked Trump on health care. They intend to end the Affordable Care Act, all based on concepts that we planned. Concepts.

The former president is pledging to lift the $10,000 cap on state and local tax deductions known as SALT, even though the controversial cap was part of his signature tax law in 2017. A move critics said targeted Democratic-leaning states with high property taxes. Now... I will cut taxes for families, small businesses and workers, including restoring the SALT deduction. Focusing on concerns over immigration, Trump now says he plans to visit Springfield, Ohio, where he's faced fierce criticism for his comments about Haitian immigrants. Lester.

Gabe Gutierrez at the White House. Thanks. Emotional testimony today at an inquiry into that doomed Titan submersible mission to the Titanic as we learn about a malfunction days before the deadly dive. Here's Jesse Kirsch. The world is very happy to go. That's how Renata Rojas remembers Titan's five-man crew preparing to dive to Titanic's wreck and ultimately their deaths last year. Nothing is going to bring our friends back. Today, Coast Guard investigators questioning Rojas, a former mission specialist for OceanGate,

about the company's submersible, which imploded last June, killing everyone on board. The Coast Guard now releasing this new video showing Titan debris on the seafloor. OceanGate's former scientific director testifying about potential warning signs ignored, including on Titan's last dive attempt before the fatal mission. The bow of the submersible was pointing up in the air. The pilot crashed into the rear bulkhead. The rest of the passengers tumbled about. Rojas says she was clear-eyed about risks she believes are worth taking. I hope that this investigation creates an understanding that with exploration, there's risk. And without taking that risk and

the exploration, you know, the world still be flat. Private citizens are the ones funding the expeditions, and I hope that doesn't stop. Jesse Kirsch, NBC News. In just 60 seconds, the new warning about popular social media and streaming platforms. How much personal data are they harvesting from you? And how much money are they making? Tonight, federal investigators are accusing social media and streaming companies of a massive campaign to collect personal information on users and even non-users. Here's Tom Costello. Federal investigators call it a vast surveillance of anyone using some of the most popular social media and streaming companies, including Amazon's Twitch, Facebook, YouTube, Twitter X, Snap, TikTok, Reddit, WhatsApp, and Discord,

gathering user age, gender, and location, even marital status and income, to target ads and sell the data to third parties. They've amassed vast profiles of just about every American, including Americans that don't even use these services. The FTC says companies are too often failing to protect personal information, exposing users, including children and teens, to a range of threats from identity theft to criminal stalking. And Congress needs to create tough new privacy laws.

What are these companies doing with the data they collect on all of us? We were quite disturbed by the fact that some of these companies did not even know all of the third parties with whom they were sharing data. Today, many of the companies refuted or declined to comment on the report, though in the past, Meta Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has defended his company. We give people the ability to connect with the people they care about and to engage with the topics that they care about. Online advertisers today said consumers understand the value exchange and welcome the opportunity to have access to free or highly subsidized content and services. But security pros say most of us simply scroll through the long user agreements when we sign up. It's either opt-in or you don't get to use the

service. And so many people are in a hurry and they don't read it. The bottom line, it may be easy to delete an account, but not your digital footprint. That could live forever. Lester. Okay, Tom, thanks. Coming up, our follow-up to our bombshell investigation. When we asked a state medical school about selling parts from unclaimed dead bodies without consent, they shut down the program. Our new reporting and the families waiting for closure up next. We're back with part two of an NBC News investigation into a Texas medical school that was dissecting, studying and even leasing out body parts of unclaimed bodies, at times as their only family searched for them. Tonight, Liz Kreutz looks at how widespread the practice may be

and the ethical questions it raises. It was a lucrative business, a state medical school near Dallas making money by dissecting, studying, and exporting hundreds of unclaimed bodies. But after a nearly year-long investigation by NBC News, the school, which initially defended the practice, made a stunning reversal and suspended the program. We were completely failed by the entire system. Despite the change, for many of the families impacted, like Michael Coleman's, there's still so much left unanswered. I used to cry all day, every day. Now I just cry at least once every day. Coleman's fiancee, Louisa, and his sisters, Shea and Tisha, spent months searching for him after

he didn't come home. It turns out he had died, possibly hit by a car near his apartment. Within days, Michael Coleman's family began searching this neighborhood, even putting up missing persons flyers. All while Michael was languishing in a hospital just minutes away. But despite the family calling the hospital, calling police, calling the medical examiner's office, nobody connected the dots. When the family finally did, it was too late. The health science center was already preparing his body for a 12 to 24 month study. I told that lady, give his body back. And she's like, well, no, because he was donated to us, but he was wrongfully donated to y'all. 10 companies and medical schools that paid the university to use body parts have since told us

they did not know those parts often came from unclaimed bodies. One of those companies, National Bioskills Laboratories, paid $900 for the torso of U.S. military veteran Victor Honey, who we told you about earlier this week. Were you aware that your laboratory was using body parts of unclaimed people? No, not at all. First time I heard about it was when NBC News contacted me. It says donated on the paperwork. What did you think that meant? That they donated their bodies for this purpose. Are you going to change course in any way now knowing what you know?

Yes, absolutely. We need to know exactly who consented. I would like to know that. While training on unclaimed bodies is legal in most of the country, many U.S. medical schools have halted the practice. A few states, including Hawaii, Minnesota, and Vermont, many U.S. medical schools have halted the practice. A few states, including Hawaii, Minnesota, and Vermont, have outright banned it. But because no national data exists about how common it is, NBC News conducted its own survey, reaching out to 51 major medical schools in 29 states. 44 of them told us they don't use unclaimed bodies. The rest didn't answer. What is the moral question here? What do we owe the dead?

And what do we owe their loved ones? Eli Shoup is a bioethicist advocating for a national ban. Who is most likely to be deemed an unclaimed body? People who die poor. These are marginalized communities who are being affected by this practice. A local med school has justified this practice to me in terms of it diversifying their cadaver lab. They'll come out and say, this is a great way for our students to get training on black bodies. But I don't think that that's a feather in your cap if you've just taken that

black body. Without consent. Without consent. I think that in some sense, it is modern day grave robbing. That's exactly what Coleman's sisters feel happened to him. He was a Black man with a criminal record. Do you think that the officials took your family seriously? No. Because of his past, because he's Black. Officials with Dallas and Tarrant counties and the Health Science Center have declined NBC News' repeated requests for interviews. But just this week, after the university suspended its program and after NBC News aired the first part of this story, both counties held meetings addressing the failures. For Louisa, it's a step towards closure, but still no justice.

He wasn't a missing person. He had family that loved him. He wasn't nothing. That's how they treated him, like he wasn't nothing when he was everything to me. Liz Kreutz, NBC News, Dallas. And we'll take a break. When we come back together, they take the plunge to clean up underwater waste. Meet the women with a passion for restoring polluted ponds. Finally, there's good news tonight about a league of female divers. If you look in the chilly ponds of Cape Cod, you can find them on a mission to clean up underwater trash. Stephanie Gosk has their story. Ladies of a certain age like to gather. They play cards, drink tea, chat. Not this group. This are the self-proclaimed old ladies against underwater garbage, OLOG for short, and they are cleaning the freshwater ponds in Cape Cod, Massachusetts,

trash diving as a group for fun. What is a good day in the garbage department? 100 pounds. 100 pounds? 84-year-old Susan Bauer came up with the idea herself. Water is magic. You're immersed in it. You're in a different world. A swimmer and a naturalist. She was seeing too much garbage along with her beloved turtles, so she got her friends together. I've always loved nature. Wanted to do something at my age to give back. It's a skill I didn't even know I had, finding trash in ponds. There are strict rules on membership. Divers older than 64, no men, and they have to pass the triads. You have to swim a half a mile in under 30 minutes,

but you also have to be able to handle a mile. Water is murky. There are snapping turtles. there are eels. So it's too bad that the cutoff is 64 years old. Or I'd totally be in there helping. They pull up some remarkable things, car batteries, garden gnomes, and the find of all time, a toilet bowl. But in the end, the benefit is greater than just the cleaned up ponds. When you finish one of these days, how do you feel? Empowered, tired, and like I'm 10 years old. We realized that we were a lot happier when we came out of the water than when we went into the

water. Because big garbage is big joy. That is success. Stephanie Gosk, NBC News, Sandwich, Massachusetts. We should all thank them for what they're doing. That's nightly news for this Thursday. Thank you for watching. I'm Lester Holt. Please take care of yourself and each other. Good night.