NBC Nightly News with Tom Llamas - Tuesday, August 20, 2024

Episode Date: August 21, 2024

Obama to address Democratic convention in support of Harris; Harris campaigns in Milwaukee at site of Republican convention; Trump campaign blitzes battleground states; and more on tonight’s broadcast.

Tonight, Kamala Harris hitting the campaign trail as Barack and Michelle Obama make the case for her here at the Democratic National Convention. The former president and former first lady headlining night two of the DNC while Vice President Harris and running mate Tim Walz hold a rally nearby in Battleground, Wisconsin. It comes after President Biden passed the torch to Harris last night, less than a month after exiting the race, his emotional speech, and the Republican ticket, Donald Trump and J.D. Vance making their own Midwest battleground blitz as the former president prepares to hold his first outdoor event since the attempt on his life behind bulletproof glass.

Also tonight, the Israeli military saying it's recovered the bodies of six hostages in Gaza as the latest U.S.-backed ceasefire proposal hangs in the balance. The fiery plane crash in Texas causing homes and buildings to erupt in flames. At least two people killed, what investigators are saying. The difficult search after that luxury yacht sank off Italy. New details on the six people missing, including a British tech mogul and two Americans. This is NBC Nightly News. Reporting tonight from the Democratic National Convention in Chicago,

here is Lester Holt. Good evening and welcome from Chicago. Perhaps no one in the Democratic Party can generate more excitement than the man who made history as the first African-American president. And that is why Barack Obama, elected 16 years ago, will deliver a much-anticipated address here on day two of this Democratic convention, offering a strong endorsement of Vice President Kamala Harris, who, if successful, will be the first woman to become president. Obama's speech comes a day after President Biden, his former vice president,

addressed this convention with a passionate yet bittersweet passing of the torch to Harris, recognizing both history's calling and the urgency of the moment. It's where we begin tonight with Chief White House Correspondent Peter Alexander. Peter, a lot of anticipation here in former President Obama's hometown. Yeah, Lester, that is exactly right. Right now we are here in the middle of the Illinois delegation for President Obama. This really is a homecoming of sorts. Democrats hoping that his star power helps motivate their voters to come out in force for Kamala Harris. Tonight, the Democrats' attention turns to two of the party's biggest

names, former President Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama. Mr. Obama's speech coming 20 years after the DNC address that propelled him to stardom overnight. Sources tell NBC News he'll detail the task ahead for Democrats in the next 77 days and bring into focus the values at stake in this election. The former commander in chief in the spotlight 77 days and bring into focus the values at stake in this election. The former commander in chief in the spotlight after a night that belonged to the current one. Before leaving Chicago, President Biden reflected on the nearly five minute standing ovation he received. Well, it was. I mean, the reception was pretty overwhelming. The president tearing up after he was introduced by his daughter and heaping praise on Vice President Harris. Selecting Kamala was the very first decision I made when I became our nominee.

And it was the best decision I made my whole career. Insisting he had no ill will after being pressured to drop out of the race. And all this talk about how I'm angry at all those people who said I should step down. That's not true. President Biden defending his record and crediting Harris for playing a critical role carrying it out. We've had one of the most extraordinary four years of progress ever. Period. When I say we, I mean Kamala and me. NBC News tonight getting a first look at the video introducing Doug Emhoff and Harris' blended family. Kamala became Mamala.

She took over Sunday night dinners and taught Doug how to actually cook. The vice president now the second woman to top a major party ticket, and the second to face Donald Trump. The first, Hillary Clinton, also speaking last night. He is lying about Kamala's record. He's mocking her name and her laugh. Sounds familiar. But we have him on the run now.

But in a battleground blitz again today. They tried to pretend that everything was great. The crime was great. The border was great. Both former President Trump and J.D. Vance accused Harris of trying to run away from her record. She stands there and says on day one, she's going to tackle the housing affordability crisis in our country. You've been the vice president for three and a half years. What the hell have you been doing for all that time?

And tonight, sources tell NBC News the Harris campaign and its allies are riding a wave of new energy, having raised nearly $500 million since Joe Biden handed over the reins to Kamala Harris. Lester. Peter, thanks. Meantime, Vice President Harris is holding a rally tonight about an hour away in Wisconsin. Yamiche Alcindor in Milwaukee. Yamiche, it's an unusual choice to hold an event like this during her own convention. Well, Lester, Harris campaign sources tell me that the vice president and Governor Walz wanted to underscore that their focus on directly engaging with voters in battleground states, even during the week of the DNC.

So they're coming to this critical state, her third visit here in a month. Now, this campaign rally is in the same arena where former President Trump and Republicans held the RNC. She is expected to attack former President Trump as well as lay out her vision for America. Meanwhile, a source familiar with the speech that Vice President Harris is going to be delivering on Thursday at the DNC tells me the speech is largely done and that the VP and her team are making tweaks. Lester? Yeah, Mish, thank you. All right, let me bring in Hallie Jackson. Hallie, obviously this is a critical time for the Harris campaign, but the Trump folks are

watching very carefully as well. They sure are. And what is the busiest week of his campaign so far? He's on a battleground blitz in places like Michigan. We're not far from that delegation, a key state for both Republicans and Democrats, of course. The Trump campaign is basically looking, Lester, to try to get on offense here, especially after some of the sharp attacks we heard on night one here at the DNC. You've got his running mate, for example, going after Vice President Harris for not doing formal interviews since she became the nominee. But you've also got allies, those in Mr. Trump's orbit, who are deeply frustrated that he's leveling personal attacks against Vice President Harris and not focusing on policy.

And another split screen moment we should be looking for. That's right. That's because the former president tomorrow will hold his first outdoor campaign event since that assassination attempt against him in Butler, Pennsylvania. This one will be in North Carolina. And multiple campaign sources tell NBC News there will be stepped up secret service security there, including more bulletproof glass. Thanks much. And join us tonight on News Now for continuing coverage of the Democratic Convention and at 10 Eastern on the NBC network, we'll be live with

Barack and Michelle Obama as they headline their hometown here in Chicago. And after protesters broke through that barrier near the United Center last night, there is new concern about security here in Chicago. Shaquille Brewster is following this in Shaq. They're preparing for more protests. That's right, Lester. 13 people were arrested, and here at the fence line, the changes were almost immediate. These brackets were installed overnight, as was an additional layer of fencing behind the level that was breached just yesterday. And then we saw this morning that camera installed here. Now, Secret Service says that they had lessons that they're learning from what happened

last night. And Chicago's top cop saying that their game plan is essentially the same. They will show restraint when protesters are peaceful, but they're ready to step up when things escalate. And Shaq, you've been talking to young voters, many of them concerned about the war in Gaza and how the Biden administration is dealing with it. That's right, Lester. A few months ago, we traveled to Wisconsin and introduced you to a group of young voters who said they were moving away from President Biden. So we went back to that same exact group to listen to how they feel about Vice President Harris. President Biden out. Pass the torch to a new generation. Vice President Harris in. We are joyful warriors. And trying to rebuild support from a key part of the Democratic coalition. President Biden is getting big warning signs. Back in December, as polls showed Biden's support

from young voters crashing, we traveled to Dane County in Battleground, Wisconsin and learned the war in Gaza was a big part of the reason why. He is allowing this war to happen and is funding this war. I think after October 7th, the question became a matter of human rights.

Do you plan on voting for him this time, Laura? No. No, not anymore. Since then, a lot has changed. Yeah. With Biden off the ticket, we asked those same voters where they stand now. Right now, I'm leaning towards voting for Kamala Harris, but there's many months to go. I want to vote for Kamala, but that depends on her policy change in terms of Raza. They're part of a big shift. Back in June, Biden led Trump by just six percentage points among

voters under 30 nationwide. By late July, Harris's lead had grown to 18 points. You told me you were considering voting third party in this election when we last spoke. How are you feeling now? I'm kind of up in the air. I'm really a bit torn. I also want to vote for Kamala here because I live in a swing state and would really like to avoid another Trump presidency. What Harris says about Gaza, these voters say, will be key. Talking about an issue in a more empathetic way, for example, makes a big difference for a lot of people. You feel like Harris is doing that in the way that Biden has literally not been able to. I'm much more excited about the candidate now than I was about Biden. An opportunity with young voters that comes with a warning.

That can change really quickly. It's a two-way street. Shaquille Brewster, NBC News, Madison, Wisconsin. And in the Middle East tonight, the prospect of a ceasefire in the Gaza war coming perhaps within days appears to be fading tonight as the bodies of six more Israeli hostages were recovered. Raf Sanchez is in Israel with late details. Tonight, Secretary Blinken visiting both Egypt and Qatar as hopes of reaching a ceasefire deal quickly appear to be slipping away. These things sometimes take more time than you want. What we are all united on is the urgency of the moment. Israel has accepted an American proposal to pause the fighting and free the hostages.

But Hamas is so far rejecting the plan, accusing the U.S. of making too many concessions to Israel. The U.S. administration is giving in to Israeli pressure and not the other way around, says this Hamas leader. A senior U.S. official says they don't take Hamas's rejection as its final word. Every day, without an agreement, more Palestinian children killed and wounded in Gaza. And today, the bodies of six more Israeli hostages recovered from Han Yunus, among them 79-year-old Avraham Munder. He was kidnapped on October 7th, along with his wife, daughter, and eight-year-old grandson, Ohad. Last year, we brought you the story of this painful birthday as Ohad turned nine in captivity.

In Gaza now, the terrorists took him to Gaza and his family. But while Ohad and the women were freed in last year's hostage deal, Avraham was left behind. A much-loved grandfather now lost forever. A U.S. official tells NBC News that despite Hamas's apparent rejection of the deal, negotiators will still meet in Cairo this week. Lester. Raf Sanchez in Tel Aviv tonight. Thank you. We want to turn out of that deadly plane crash in West Texas. Investigators say two people were killed when the small plane went down in a neighborhood in Odessa, causing homes and buildings to erupt in flames. Witnesses say it struggled to gain

altitude after takeoff from a nearby airport, clipped a power line, and then crashed in an alley. In just 60 seconds, the growing questions after that super yacht sunk off the coast of Italy. The new details on the investigation next. Plus, the world's top tennis player testing positive for steroids twice. Why he won't be suspended. Back now with the urgent search off the coast of Italy after that deadly yacht tragedy. Authorities releasing new details about the six people still missing, including two Americans. Steve Patterson now with the all-out effort to find them. Tonight, specialized divers plunging into the dark depths off the Sicilian coast,

now searching for a miracle. Rescuers scouring for those passengers believed to be tragically trapped somewhere in the ship's hull, scattered more than 160 feet down along the seafloor. Italian authorities say 22 people were on board the 184-foot luxury yacht when the storm struck. Six remained missing, including the yacht's owner, tech mogul Mike Lynch and his teenage daughter. Also, the British chairman of Morgan Stanley, Jonathan Blumer, and his wife, Judy, along with Lynch's New York-based attorney, Christopher Morvello, and wife, Netta. Morvello represented Lynch in June when he was cleared in a massive U.S. fraud trial. Morvello cheered the legal victory with a now ominous post, and they all lived happily

ever after. Another twist, Lynch's co-defendant from that same trial, Steve Chamberlain, was fatally struck by a car while running on Saturday. Fifteen people aboard the yacht were initially rescued, with one confirmed death. The body of the ship's chef recovered Monday. Rescue efforts for those still missing, complicated by the ship's depth and narrow passages. One diver saying, the biggest difficulty is getting into the ship. Once inside, we can search room by room. Security video captured early Monday showing the storm's staggering power, including wind gusts up to 150 miles per hour. The captain of another nearby boat saying he was there when the yacht went down.

We were hit by a violent gust yesterday, a tornado, water tornado, I think they call it. A moment later, she was gone and we couldn't declare what happened. An urgent search for signs of life below the surface as questions deepen. Steve Patterson, NBC News. The world's number one ranked tennis player Yannick Sinner tested positive for anabolic steroids twice in March, but won't be suspended because it was unintentional. That's according to the International Tennis Integrity Agency. Sinner said the substance inadvertently entered his system

through massages from his physiotherapist. Coming up, the scary moment behind the wheel, a UPS driver passing out and crashing in the heat. The new push to protect workers in the scorching summer using AI. We are tracking extreme heat tonight with 31 million people under alerts across the south and caught on camera near Dallas, a UPS driver passing out at the wheel and crashing into a tree. His union blaming heat exhaustion. UPS says the driver received minor medical treatment. The incident, though, highlighting the dangers many workers face in the heat. Jesse Kirsch now on new efforts to protect them using technology and AI. Less than three hours into the workday,

Rogelio Baltazar is already soaking through his shirt. It's almost 90 degrees before 9 a.m. It's just like you're in a big oven. That's what it feels like. You're really just praying to go home. On this fern farm north of Orlando where Balthazar clears the brush, it doesn't even take that long for the heat to become dangerous. Some research shows on an average workday, almost half of these workers

will see their core body temperature climb to dangerously high levels before noon. Is there any way they are replacing enough of the fluids in their body with how much they're sweating? No. And in fact, what we have found in our studies is that by the end of the workday, 81% of them are dehydrated. Emory University researcher Roxana Chicas says for especially vulnerable farm workers, these conditions can cause chronic kidney issues and even kidney failure. When heat stroke happens, body temperature can rise to 106 degrees in just minutes. For these workers who have limited access to health care, many do not have health insurance. It's a death sentence.

To save lives, Emory and Georgia Tech developed these experimental biopatches. With data from the patches, Chicas' team is developing an artificial intelligence model that will predict heat illness. The idea that you can prevent someone from getting sick, that you can prevent people from becoming patients, this is what this technology offers. With climate change and rising temperatures, heat-related deaths are spiking. More than 2,300 in the U.S. last year alone. Participant 145. Chicas is focused on particularly vulnerable farm workers. Antonia Hernandez and her daughter are part of the research project in Florida. She says that physically it's really hard to work out in the field because sometimes you just want to sit down. But then you remember you have debt, you have children, so they just have to keep going and going. Their work exhausting and dangerous, with researchers hoping AI can soon be life-saving.

Jesse Kirsch, NBC News, Pearson, Florida. That is nightly news for this Tuesday. Thank you for watching. I'm Lester Holt. Please take care of yourself and each other. And for now, good night from Chicago.