NBC Nightly News with Tom Llamas - Wednesday, February 7, 2024

Episode Date: February 8, 2024

U.S. drone strike in Baghdad kills three militants, officials say; Netanyahu says campaign against Hamas must continue, rejects proposal by Hamas; Search for 5 U.S. Marines after helicopter crash in California; and more on tonight’s broadcast.

Tonight, the deadly new U.S. strike in Iraq, killing a top militia commander with ties to Iran. The U.S. military saying it carried out the strike in Baghdad, taking out the high-ranking commander of an Iran-backed militia accused of directly planning and participating in attacks on U.S. forces. Our report from Iraq. Also, tonight, the urgent search for five U.S. Marines missing after their helicopter vanished in California, the remote area where the aircraft was found. The fiery

police standoff in Pennsylvania, two officers shot and the home erupting into flames. Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu rejecting Hamas's latest ceasefire demand. Is there still room for negotiations? Chaos on Capitol Hill, Senate Republicans killing the border deal they had demanded after the House GOP failed to impeach the Homeland Security Secretary. The stunning moment a Democrat rushed from the hospital to cast the deciding vote. Six months after the Lahaina wildfires, NBC News investigates how did one small neighborhood suffer so many deaths? The killer whales trapped in the ice off Japan and the good news about them tonight.

And two giants of the music world inviting the public into their private collection featuring giants of the art world. This is NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt. Good evening and welcome. We start with the breaking news out of Iraq, where a U.S. military drone strike has reportedly killed the head of a militia believed responsible for attacks on U.S. troops in the region. In a statement tonight, U.S. Central Command saying the target of the strike, a Qatab Hezbollah commander, was responsible for directly planning and participating in attacks on U.S. forces in the region. The nighttime attack occurred in Baghdad and comes days into a campaign of

retaliatory strikes by U.S. forces in response to a recent deadly attack on American soldiers in Jordan. Our Keir Simmons is in Iraq tonight and has this late report. Tonight, a vehicle in flames in the Iraqi capital. A U.S. strike so targeted, cars close by appear undamaged, others driving past. But in the aftermath, fury erupting. A crowd chanting no to America, no to Israel. Among those killed, Abu Bakr al-Saadi, a commander in Qatab Hasbullah, the group says, the Iranian-backed militia accused of the killing of three American service members

in a drone attack on Tower 22, a remote desert base in Jordan, 10 days ago. CENTCOM saying in a statement tonight, US forces conducted a unilateral strike in Iraq in response to the attacks on US service members, killing a Qatab Hezbollah commander responsible for directly planning and participating in attacks on US forces in the region. In addition to the deadly drone strike, Iranian-backed militias have launched over 160 attacks on American targets since October and have kept on attacking American bases in Syria, even after Friday's wave of American retaliatory strikes. President Biden, who's been under pressure to launch a more forceful response, was pressed about it earlier this week. Are the airstrikes working?

Yes. Tonight, Iraq's military immediately branding the strike a violation of Iraqi sovereignty, with tensions between Iran and the U.S. escalating. Ed Kier, you have some new reporting on the timing of all this. That's right, Lester. Tonight, a U.S. official tells NBC News that Iraq was notified shortly after the strike, but that President Biden made the order early last week. We're told it was carried out as soon as an opportunity presented itself. Lester. All right, Keir Simmons in Iraq. Thank you. In Israel tonight, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is rejecting the latest demands

by Hamas as part of a proposed hostage release deal after four months of war. Raf Sanchez reports on that and a new tunnel in Gaza that Israel says was used by Hamas leaders. Tonight, Secretary of State Antony Blinken insisting there's still a path to a deal to free Israeli hostages after Israel's prime minister rejected a new list of demands from Hamas. Clearly, there are things that Hamas sent back that are absolute non-starters. But at the same time, we see in what was sent back space to continue to pursue an agreement. Hamas was responding to an American-backed proposal, saying it will free all its hostages in exchange for a four-and-a-half-month ceasefire, leading to an end to the war, the release of thousands of Palestinian prisoners,

and a total withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza. Tonight, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu calling the Hamas proposal delusional. Giving in to Hamas's bizarre demands not only won't bring the release of hostages, it will just invite another massacre, he said. In Gaza, Israeli strikes hitting the city of Rafah. Mohammed stares at his hands, shaking uncontrollably. In Han Yunis, we followed Israeli troops deep underground into what they say was a tunnel for top Hamas leaders. This is years of bullying.

And then, a disturbing discovery. The Israeli military says this was a cage where at least three Israeli hostages were held. You can see there is a slot for what they say was delivering food. And here, a lock from the outside. Somewhere in these tunnels, more hostages waiting desperately for a deal. And Secretary Blinken will meet with hostage families tomorrow. Lester. Raph Sanchez, thanks.

Here at home, a developing story in Pennsylvania, where two police officers were wounded by gunfire from a home that later caught fire. Officials say the officers came under fire after being called to the home in a suburb of Philadelphia on a report that an 11-year-old child had been shot. The officers are reported to be in stable condition. These have been desperate hours in the hills east of San Diego after a missing Marine Corps helicopter was found, but not its air crew. Officials say five Marines were aboard

when it vanished from radar overnight. Dana Griffin reports. Tonight, the urgent search for five missing Marines, their helicopter disappearing overnight in a remote area of San Diego County during a routine training flight. Our crews are out in this rugged terrain. It's slippery. It's muddy out. We have snow. Military officials confirming the missing helo was located this morning. Now, a rescue effort for the five on board. All were assigned to the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing. They were flying a CH-53E Super Stallion helicopter like this one. In a statement, the Marines say the crew departed from Creech Air Force Base

near Las Vegas Tuesday night, heading to Marine Corps Air Station Miramar in San Diego County. Super Stallion is primarily used for transporting heavy equipment. It was last detected around 11.30 p.m. Tuesday, according to CAL FIRE, 50 miles east of its destination. Once the aircraft was reported overdue, search and rescue teams were dispatched. They had to go on foot to search the area of the coordinates of the last known location of that helicopter. Overnight, conditions near the crash were a mix of rain and heavy snow. It's unclear if the severe weather was a factor in the crash. Tonight, all focus is on finding those five missing Marines. Officials have not released an update on the search and rescue,

but we do know that the same type of helicopter was involved in another crash over five years ago in a different training mission in California, killing four Marines. Lester. Dana Griffin, thank you. And also in California, at four Marines. Lester. Dana Griffin, thank you. And also in California, at least four people are confirmed dead and that toll expected to rise after the severe weather that swept across the state with more than 400 mudslides reported in the Los Angeles area. And tonight, with the ground so saturated, a new storm heading into the region threatens to cause even more flooding and mudslides. Now to the breakdown in Congress over the border security bill and funding for Ukraine and Israel.

Ryan Nobles is at the Capitol tonight and has late details. Tonight, Capitol Hill in a state of chaos. It's a big leadership challenge that we need to find a solution for. 24 hours after that embarrassing defeat for Republicans, narrowly failing to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, following a dramatic turn of events, Democrat Al Green rushed from his hospital bed to cast the deciding vote against it. Republicans had accused Mayorkas of unlawfully allowing millions of migrants to cross into the U.S.

The House speaker tonight vowing to hold another vote when a top Republican returns from medical treatment. Mayorkas needs to be held accountable. The Biden administration needs to be held accountable, and we will pass those articles of impeachment. While the Senate tonight attempting to start the process to push through a new bill with funding for Israel, Taiwan, and Ukraine. Money supporters say is critical with a new round of strikes by Russia on the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv. But that package had originally included billions for border security

too. Bipartisan negotiators touted an increase in detention centers and raising the standards for asylum. But GOP critics slammed the proposal, saying it was not tough enough and that President Biden could solve the crisis by bringing back Trump border policies. The deal was voted down today. You think House Republicans are as interested in bipartisanship at this point? Well, what they're going to have to do is show their ability to govern, right? NBC's Morgan Chesky is on the border in Eagle Pass, Texas. Crossings here are down at the moment, but firefighters tell us they've been overwhelmed, especially after seeing migrants drown while trying to cross the Rio Grande. Can any of you even count the number of body recoveries you've been a part of anymore?

I lost count. I'm hoping that the federal government will cut a deal and completely stop this madness. One conservative Republican telling us he's fine with the gridlock. Could that mean like a government shutdown in the near future? Well, it could be as far as I'm concerned. I mean, most of my voters would love to see this place shut down because they don't think it works for them. But Speaker Johnson with a different view. What would you say to Americans concerned that Congress isn't able to do basic functions? Well, it's just simply not true. We're governing here.

Sometimes it's messy. Ryan, let's circle back not true. We're governing here. Sometimes it's messy. Ryan, let's circle back for a second. What happens now with that separate Senate bill with aid for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan? Well, Lester, if it passes the Senate, its prospects in the House are dim. The House speaker already warning that he may not be able to bring the legislation to the floor and he may be forced to break the package up into individual bills. Lester. Ryan Noble is at the Capitol. Thank you. In 60 seconds, the crisis of overcrowding in our hospitals with some waiting for days in ERs.

We report on a solution that lets many get treated at home, how it works and saves money. Next. It's become a massive problem at hospitals nationwide. It's called boarding when a patient is held in the ER because there are no other beds available. But as Anne Thompson reports, there may be a solution that starts at home. A new heart gave Marissa Long new life eight years ago and plenty of experience in the ER, but stays in hospital hallways for 48 and then 72 hours for rejection issues last winter were frightening. I'm in a compromise, so I could like catch something in there and make things worse. Disturbing for the 30-year-old and her dad,

Michael. We go in thinking that we're moving to a room or some level of standard of care for a transplant patient in trouble, and literally we get stuck in the ER. It's not just in Los Angeles where they live. In a recent national survey, 97% of emergency room doctors reported waiting times of more than 24 hours for a hospital bed. Now a potential solution, hospital at-home programs. Good morning. Good morning. How are you, ma'am? I'm doing well, Manny. Like this one run by Atrium Health in North Carolina. Let me listen to your lungs here really quick. Sit up for me. Again. Excellent.

Typically, 80-year-old Florence Sparks would be hospitalized for congestive heart failure, but instead she's at home. I'm getting better care here. How is it better? Well, I think they're more attentive. They're not rushed to see another patient. They give you their undivided attention like Manny just did. Manny Mills, a community paramedic, visits twice a day. Sparks sees a doctor over a provided iPad once a day. I think it's going up on the laces. On the laces, okay. Going twice a day on it.

And a nurse twice. They can also provide ready-made meals, care that's more comfortable for patients and more informative for caregivers, says Mills. You really get a 360 view of a patient's life. Absolutely. We get to see their environment. We get to see what they eat, what they drink. And that enables you to deliver better care? 1,000 percent. Mentally, spiritually, emotionally, and of course, medically. In the garage where hospital-at-home paramedics load up,

Colleen Hull, who heads the program, says it's treating as many as 60 people a day at home, reducing costs up to 25% and resulting in fewer readmissions for some 150 diagnoses. We've got cancer, post-op surgical, women's health. Is this the future of health care? Absolutely is. We will always need hospitals. This provides, I believe, ultimately at a lower cost, a place for patients to heal in their own space. Achieving better outcomes, she says. I'm going to come see you this afternoon, okay? Look forward to it. For everyone involved. Ann Thompson, NBC News, Charlotte. And coming up, six months after the devastating wildfires in Maui, our investigation into what made one neighborhood a fire trap for so many.

Back now with a dramatic drone video, a pod of killer whales trapped in the thick ice, struggling for air off the coast of Japan. But good news tonight, officials believe they were able to escape as gaps in the ice grew larger. Also tonight, it's been six months since the deadly wildfires tore through the Maui town of Lahaina. Now an NBC News investigation reveals at least 43 of the fire's 100 victims lived in one small neighborhood trapped with no way out. Here's Steve Patterson. You look and you know you see that house on fire, that house on fire. Above the ruined remnants of Lahaina, Anthony Steele remembers those awful August flames. This was gridlock, this line on the road. And for so many, the narrow escape.

You need to go, bro. Yeah, go, go, go. The lifelong Maui resident lost three family-owned properties, his job, and the only place he's ever called home on August 8th. Steele says he's lucky he has his life. Many of his closest neighbors died that day, including his tenant and close family friend, Bernie Portabas. Do you remember the last thing he said to me? I'll drive you wherever we gotta go, he said. He just told me that he's gonna stay a bit longer. It's very hard.

Something I gotta live with you know an nbc news investigation discovered portables and at least 42 others who died in the maui wildfires all lived in the same small neighborhood within lahaina a neighborhood of narrow streets and tight turns you couldn't get a fire truck through my neighborhood not on those sharp turns with everybody parking all horribly, you know. Satellite photos taken after the smoke cleared revealed a deadly bottleneck after a downed tree blocked one of the few ways out. We just can't get out. There's no way out. Yes, sir. Okay, they're working on the fire. All I can tell you is to get out of that area. The area, called Kahua Camp, was the remnant of once-temporary housing built for workers growing sugar cane.

The home's average size originally were only like 500 square feet. Crystal Smythe grew up in Kahua Camp and says as families grew, so did the homes, and the neighborhood got more congested. It was already a one-lane road they started parking on the streets because the homes were adding second stories, some were adding cottages in the back, so it became more and more dangerous that way. NBC News spoke to more than 30 people, including current and former residents of Kahua Camp, to understand why it came to account for so many of the fire's fatalities. For years, residents say they complained about access issues, cars and boats blocking the streets, some fearing they may one day face the unthinkable. We're trapped right now. We're trapped. Then they did. Maui County officials declined to comment on the neighborhood's long

running congestion and access problems. Though a spokesperson for the police department confirmed a dispatcher notified officers of a downed tree in the area, but said officers were busy elsewhere and it was not addressed. What does this kind of loss do to a community like this? It's definitely wounded. You are never, ever going to be the same. Myina will never be the same. I know that for a fact. He does hope it can be safer one day when he rebuilds. We just want to go home. We can't go home, though. Steve Patterson, NBC News, Maui.

We'll take a short break right here. Up next, a museum for giants. The superstar couple remaking the art world masterpiece at a time. Finally, dozens of giants of the art world together in one place and the music superstar couple inviting the public inside. Here's Hoda Kotb. Grammy award winning singer Alicia Keys and her husband, Kasim Dean, better known as music producer Swizz Beatz, are unveiling something big. We've been collecting for the past 20 years. For the first time, more than 100 works from the couple's private art collection, called the Dean Collection,

are on display at the Brooklyn Museum. The exhibition, titled Giants, features works of nearly 40 Black artists from all over the world. I'm just imagining little kids walking through here. Can you picture it? On these walls of these museums? Depicted in this beautiful way. Yeah. It's very rare you see artists of color displaying 30-foot works. So when people walk into the show, we want them to feel like we can be as giant as we want to be. It's meant to also remind you that you belong in these spaces.

We deserve to be on all the walls of all the giant spaces. Themes range from the modern day protest to celebrations like this painting from Derek Adams. We never really see photos of people of color in pools. It was just like pretty cool how beautiful is that just chilling giants features emerging artists and trailblazers including photographer gordon parks you realize we couldn't do this without all the people that came before us we collect from our heart all of the artists that's living that's in the show of actual friends. One artist that deans count as a close friend is Kehinde Wiley, known for his iconic 2018 portrait of President Barack Obama. What we do as artists is we zoom in on the everyday,

the things that we take for granted, and we say this too is graceful. Now the couple hopes to make a lasting impact. When you're a little kid and you have all these dreams in your head, you don't even know what's even possible. And so to see it happen, you know it can happen for anybody. Hoda Kotb, NBC News, Brooklyn, New York. That's nightly news for this Wednesday. Thank you for watching. I'm Lester Holt. Please take care of yourself and each other.

Good night.