NBC Nightly News with Tom Llamas - Tuesday, June 18, 2024

Episode Date: June 19, 2024

Major heat wave sends temperatures skyrocketing in the eastern half of U.S.; Biden moves to protect undocumented spouses of citizens from deportation; Arms race to supply warring sides in Russia-Ukraine conflict; and more on tonight’s broadcast.

Tonight, the record-breaking heat wave intensifying and pushing east and the tropical threat we're tracking in the Gulf. The dangerous heat impacting more than 70 million from Iowa to Maine, scorching temperatures set to last for days. Amid the heat in Massachusetts, 911 services knocked out statewide for hours. And in the west, dozens of wildfires burning. A state of emergency in New Mexico. Thousands forced to evacuate. And the warning in Texas. The first potential tropical storm of the year taking aim. Al Roker is tracking it all.

Also tonight, President Biden's new executive action shielding 500,000 undocumented spouses of U.S. citizens from deportation. Who will qualify? And Republicans attacking the plan as amnesty. Boeing CEO on Capitol Hill testifying for the first time since that door plug blowout. The dramatic moment in the room, his apology to families of 737 MAX crash victims, and the grilling he faced after yet another Boeing whistleblower comes forward. Justin Timberlake arrested in the Hamptons for DWI. The mugshot just out. What he allegedly told the officer about how much he had to drink.

This is NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt. Good evening and welcome. Tonight, millions more are under heat alerts as the blanket of brutally hot air we've been watching settles into the northeast, now stretching from Iowa to Maine with temperatures into the 90s. Fast-forwarding us right into what feels like the middle of August, 50 to 75 record highs could be broken this weekend. Cities including Chicago, Washington, D.C., and Philadelphia expect to see at least five days at 90 degrees or higher. Many cities in the hot box are urgently warning residents of the health dangers, especially with the hottest temperatures still to come.

The heat itself, just part of the weather story we're watching tonight. In the west, wildfires are on the rampage, while the Texas coast is facing a tropical storm threat. Al Roker has the latest forecast, but let's start with Maggie Vespa. Tonight, the extreme heat is expanding east. It's hot, really, really hot. With 73 million Americans from Iowa through Maine sweltering in record shattering temps, Detroit, Cincinnati and New York all hovering in the 90s for at least five days. Every region of upstate is going to be hit with over 100 degree real field. Officials in Massachusetts giving out local numbers for

first responders after the state's 911 system went down for hours today. We thought it was important, particularly with the heat. The heat index already at 100 degrees in Chicago and D.C., 105 in Pittsburgh, where severe storms overnight knocked out power for tens of thousands. Families desperate for relief. It feels like it's harder to breathe. When I step outside, it's like I'm in an oven or something. Like you're in an oven. Yes.

Out west, the heat is fueling more than 20 wildfires. Thousands evacuated from Redoso, New Mexico after two fast-moving fires merged nearby. Meanwhile, in Texas, increasing swells crashing onto the coast with the potential tropical cyclone swirling in the warm Gulf waters. The heat costing more than ever. A new study out this month warning air conditioning costs this summer will hit a 10-year high, $719, as Americans try to keep homes cool amid severe, prolonged heat waves. Pittsburgh dad Sean Malloy says his electric bill soars $150 in the summer. Whenever the heat goes, the sky rocks.

Is it tough on the budget? Yes, it is. Researchers calling it the cost of climate change as dangerous heat waves become more common. And Maggie Vespa joining us now from Pittsburgh. Maggie, this intense heat is now closing some schools here along the East Coast. Yeah, Lester, that's right. Districts in Boston and Buffalo have announced they're switching to half days to send kids home before temperatures peak. And one district in Massachusetts ended the school year early, starting summer break today. Lester. All right, Maggie, thanks. Let's bring it out, Roker. Al, this is just the start of a heat and an active tropical storm system. Absolutely,

Lester. We got a lot going on. Seventy three million people from Iowa to New England. The Appalachians under heat watches or advisories for tomorrow. Records possible in Syracuse, Bangor, New Brunswick, Elkins, and Wilmington. And over the next three days, temperatures stay in the 90s. Air temperatures from Concord to Cincinnati to Chicago. And those feels like temperatures will be even higher. Nine million people at risk from Duluth down to Garden City. Thunderstorm watches and tornado watches up into Minnesota. And we've got tropical storm warnings now from Brownsville just to the south of Houston. What we're looking at, heavy rain due to that storm, which could become Alberto anywhere from seven to 10 inches from Brownsville to Bay City. Lester. All right,

Al, thank you. Let's turn out of the major immigration announcement by President Biden shielding hundreds of thousands of undocumented people who were married to U.S. citizens from deportation, while former President Trump is slamming it as an election year amnesty. Here's Julia Ainsley. Tonight, President Biden announcing a sweeping new executive action, preventing the deportation of an estimated half a million migrants who are married to U.S. citizens. These couples have been raising families, sending their kids to church and school, paying taxes. The new move applies to migrants who cross the border illegally and have been here for at least 10 years.

They'll now get a path to citizenship. Previously, migrants who crossed the border illegally would have to leave the country to apply for citizenship through marriage, and some were denied reentry, a risk Javier Quiroz Castro wasn't willing to take. I have a wife. I have two kids. I have a home. This is not something that I want to roll the dice at all whatsoever with. Quiroz Castro is a nurse in Houston where he lives with his high school sweetheart, Haley,

their five-year-old daughter and two-year-old son. The White House says he'll likely benefit from the president's move. What do you and your wife tell your children about your immigration status and your journey? My daughter doesn't fully understand. She has no idea what's at stake. I guess the stress, the uncertainty. There have been a record nearly 10 million illegal border crossings since President Biden took office. Former President Trump calling today's move an unconstitutional mass amnesty that will encourage more people to come here illegally. Our country is under invasion. We should not be talking amnesty. We should be talking about

stopping the invasion instead. And it follows the president's executive action, tightening asylum restrictions. Since then, the number of illegal border crossings has dropped from 4,000 a day to just over 2,100 a day, according to DHS officials. Though smugglers are boasting, nothing at the border has changed. This smuggler advertising on WhatsApp his menu of available routes for migrants to cross illegally into the U.S. The White House says the new protections will start by the end of the summer, but the new policy may face legal challenges. Lester. Julie Ainslie, thank you. The CEO of Boeing faced tough questions on Capitol Hill today, six months after that door plug failure on a MAX 9 jet. And now a new Boeing whistleblower says the company may have used substandard parts. Here's Tom Costello. Met by chance of shame as he entered

the hearing room, Boeing CEO David Calhoun quickly apologized to the families of those who died in two MAX 8 crashes overseas. And promised Boeing is changing. Our culture is far from perfect, but we are taking action and we are making progress. But Calhoun came under immediate bipartisan fire. This hearing is a moment of reckoning. For the MAX 8 crashes, the MAX 9 door plug blowout in January, quality control breakdowns, defective parts, and whistleblower reports of falsified documents, intimidation, and retaliation. It appears that Boeing has fostered a culture that censors people who try to speak up and help. You're the problem. And I just hope to God that you don't destroy this

company before it can be saved. Today, a new whistleblower claims Boeing's 737 MAX assembly line lost hundreds of parts that did not meet Boeing specs, which he claims were hidden from FAA inspectors and may have ended up in planes and that it could lead to a catastrophic event. I have not directly spoken to any of the whistleblowers. Do you think that'd be a good idea to do that? Yeah, I think it would. How close are you? Many family members remain furious at a previous Justice Department agreement allowing Boeing and its execs to avoid criminal prosecution after the fatal crashes. But Justice now says Boeing has violated that agreement.

Nadia Milleron lost her daughter, Samia Stumo. He is responsible for 346 deaths, and he's free, and he has no criminal charges against him at all. Zipporah Curria lost her father. I've never seen worse acting in my life than David Calhoun's apologies or attempt to apologize. Tom, the Justice Department could still charge Boeing and the CEO. Yeah, prosecutors have until July 7th to decide, but Boeing is critical to the national economy, the space program, national defense. So the government has a lot to weigh in deciding whether to file charges.

Lester. All right, Tom Costello, thank you. Tonight, Russian President Putin making a rare visit to North Korea, a crucial supplier of arms for Russia's war in Ukraine, while the U.S. is expanding its capability to arm the Ukrainian side. Courtney Kuby reports on this new arms race. Russian President Vladimir Putin just arriving in North Korea, only his second trip to the isolated nation in more than two decades, hugging North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. Another sign of a deepening partnership between the men, with Kim looking for assistance with military technology,

while Putin is getting a major boost for his war in Ukraine. North Korea has sent millions of rounds of ammunition, artillery shells and missiles to Russia, according to U.S. officials. But Ukraine now getting more help from the U.S. from this new factory in Texas. Here, the U.S. military produces artillery shells known as 155 rounds, the kind they are sending to Ukraine. At the beginning of the war, the U.S. military produces artillery shells known as 155 rounds, the kind they are sending to Ukraine. At the beginning of the war, the U.S. made about 14,000 rounds per month. Now they're at 30,000 and expect to hit 55,000 per month by the end of the summer. But the U.S. is still months away from catching up with Russia, which produces at least 100,000 rounds every month.

Do you need to step it up even more? I think we need to produce more. I think we need to invest more in munitions. And we're doing that. Even with Russia and North Korea outproducing the U.S., the Army secretary insists there's still an American advantage. You have to compare the quality of what the Russians are producing and what they're getting, frankly, from countries like North Korea, it's just not the same quality as what we're producing.

With the war in Ukraine now essentially a stalemate, defense officials say consistent ammunition and weapons supplies are more important than ever. Lester. All right, Courtney Kuby, thank you. In 60 seconds, in the heat of his summer tour, star Justin Timberlake arrested on a drunk driving charge in a famous beach town. What police say about the pop superstar's condition when he was stopped. Stay with us. Back now with the arrest of one of the biggest names in entertainment, Justin Timberlake pleading not guilty to a charge of driving while intoxicated on New York's Long Island. Erin McLaughlin has late details.

Tonight, Justin Timberlake arrested and charged with driving while intoxicated. According to the Suffolk County District Attorney, he pleaded not guilty and was released. The singer was photographed by the DailyMail.com in handcuffs heading to court today in Sag Harbor, a ritzy beach community on eastern Long Island. A source close to Timberlake tells NBC News last night the 43-year-old had dinner at the exclusive American hotel. He was driving a 2025 BMW to a friend's house after midnight when, according to court documents, he failed to stop at this stop sign and swerved in two different places. Police pulled him over.

The officer determined Timberlake was intoxicated, writing, His eyes were bloodshot and glassy. A strong odor of an alcoholic beverage was emanating from his breath. He had slowed speech and he performed poorly on all standardized field sobriety tests. According to the documents, Timberlake told the officer, I had one martini and I followed my friends home. He was arrested and brought to police headquarters where he stayed overnight, having refused a chemical test to determine his blood alcohol levels three times. NBC News reached out to Timberlake's representatives and has yet to hear back.

The performer was in Sag Harbor on a break from his world tour, promoting his new album. The legendary Billy Joel, who had lunch at the same hotel today, reacting to Timberlake's arrest. Judge not, let's keep the judge. Timberlake's next concert is in Chicago on Friday. He's also scheduled for a virtual court date at the end of July. Lester. All right, Aaron, thank you. Coming up, the move by a major school district to curb cell phone use. We'll tell you where. Plus, our investigation into suspected Chinese organized crime groups growing marijuana in Maine. The national security concerns next. A major move today by Los Angeles schools. The board and the nation's second largest school district approving a strict all-day ban on cell phones for its more than 400,000 students. The ban would take effect in January. The vote

coming a day after the U.S. Surgeon General called for warning labels on social media. And now to our NBC News investigation. Maine has become a hotspot for black market marijuana as authorities fear Chinese organized crime is growing a foothold in the state. Jacob Soboroff has more in our series Captives of Cannabis. This is Rush Hour in Skowhegan, Maine. Rush Hour in Skowhegan, Maine. Aaron Bolster has been a realtor here in rural Maine for over 20 years. What's it like to live in this part of the country? Good lifestyle. Clean air, low crime.

Sheriff's Office! But that's changed. Since January alone, local and federal law enforcement say they've raided over 40 unlicensed marijuana grows across the state at homes suspected to have ties to Chinese organized crime, including at least several with sales brokered by Bolster. This is one of them. When you realized that the sheriff was starting to raid houses like this one that you sold, what kind of light bulb went off about other sales that you had made?

Wondering which one's going to be the next one. Bolster was right. Maine is the latest hotspot among 23 states now home to grows run by Chinese criminal groups, according to the DEA, a phenomenon we've been reporting on across the country for two years, with consequences including human trafficking and money laundering. Next door to that home that Bolster sold, we met neighbors Janet and Richard Gordon. How often were people present at the home? At the end of the month, they were loading a van and that it would take off for a few days. Norwich Walk town manager

Richard LaBelle was on the raid at this property and brought us to where authorities say they found nearly 400 pot plants. Oh, wow. And it's a big structure that looks like it used to be used for what, automotive repairs? Yes. Can we go look? Sure. Inside, with electricity shut off, he showed us chemical containers, a pamphlet on hemp growing, multiple rooms built to process marijuana, and perhaps evidence of where those vans the neighbors saw might have been headed. So this is Brooklyn, and we know from covering other Chinese organized crime grows across the country that people were coming from Brooklyn to go to the grows in places like Oklahoma. Yeah, there's very little doubt that folks are coming from the city

and they were either going back to Brooklyn and or Boston. According to property records, the house was registered to an owner in New York, a hub to both Chinese criminal groups and the migrant laborers they rely on, which we investigated last year. It's a connection that raises grave concerns for Maine Senator Susan Collins, who we met in Washington. Why is this happening? Chinese transnational criminal groups seem to be targeting rural areas. What we don't know is that a threat to our national security. Sounds like you're saying this is bigger than marijuana. I think it is bigger than marijuana. It may be an attempt to probe our defenses.

An attempt Senator Collins suspects that could be connected to Chinese leadership. Is it fair to say you believe Xi Jinping is aware of this operation? I do believe that. And has he directed it in some way? I don't know that, but it's impossible for me to believe that he is not aware. This month, the FBI director stopped short of supporting Senator Collins' theory. We don't yet see, but we're obviously investigating any direct ties between these grows and, say, the Chinese government itself. In a statement, the Chinese embassy in Washington says the Chinese government has taken an active and responsible approach to work with countries, including the U.S., to solve the drug problem.

Yet a recent congressional investigation found the Chinese Communist Party holds ownership interests in several Chinese companies tied to drug trafficking and money laundering. Four former senior federal law enforcement officials confirmed to NBC News those schemes often involve proceeds from illicit marijuana. Back in Maine, there remain nearly 100 active grows possibly tied to Chinese criminal groups, according to the U.S. attorney. And just today, federal authorities charged two individuals, bringing the total to three, and have seized several properties.

As a town official, do you think they're working for themselves or for a larger enterprise? Very little doubt in my mind that they're working for a larger enterprise. That larger enterprise, with connections around the country and the globe, still coming into focus. Jacob Soboroff, NBC News, Norwich Walk, Maine. And that is nightly news for this Tuesday. Thank you for watching. I'm Lester Holt.

Please take care of yourself and each other. Good night.