NBC Nightly News with Tom Llamas - Wednesday, January 24, 2024

Episode Date: January 25, 2024

Boeing's CEO meets with U.S. lawmakers on Capitol Hill; Haley staying in race despite Trump's historic NH victory; Biden secures UAW endorsement and looks to rematch with Trump; and more on tonight’s broadcast.

Breaking news tonight, the FAA temporarily capping production of Boeing 737 MAX planes after that door plug blew off mid-flight. The FAA taking that extraordinary action saying what happened aboard that Boeing 737 MAX 9, quote, must never happen again. And ordering enhanced inspections before those grounded planes can fly again. And the CEO of Boeing on Capitol Hill today answering tough safety questions. Also tonight, the flood threat across the South, major flooding near New Orleans. We're tracking it. The GOP presidential primary race moving on to South Carolina after Donald Trump's dominant win in New Hampshire. Nikki Haley holding a rally tonight and vowing to stay in the race.

And President Biden getting a major endorsement as he says he's gearing up for a rematch. The military transport plane crashing in Russia. Moscow saying 65 Ukrainian prisoners of war were on board and accusing Ukraine of shooting it down. What really happened? Our update on a 14-year-old girl from Gaza. Our cameras were there as she was rescued from the rubble. Months later, where she, her sister, and father are now, and their story of survival. The familiar face coming back to late night TV. This is NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt. Good evening and welcome everyone. We begin with the breaking news just in. The FAA announcing it

is temporarily halting future production of Boeing Max planes. It comes after that mid-air emergency in which a door plug blew off an Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 Max 9. In a statement, the FAA saying that incident must never happen again. Today's action coming in addition to the FAA's investigation of Boeing and its suppliers. And after the CEO of Boeing faced new questions today, this time from top members of Congress, as he tries to navigate criticism the company has faced. It's where we begin tonight with Ryan Nobles at the Capitol. Ryan, good evening. Lester, good evening.

The FAA announcing tonight that it is halting all future production expansion of the MAX 9 plane, and it also outlined the intense inspection and maintenance process that it will require to get the planes back in the air. Now, this comes as the CEO of Boeing was here on Capitol Hill taking tough questions from members of the U.S. Senate. Tonight, the FAA's new guidance opening the door to get the MAX 9 planes in the sky as soon as this weekend. Alaska aiming to get their grounded fleet moving by Friday, while United hopeful they will begin scheduled service on Sunday. The new standards set out by the FAA come as David Calhoun, Boeing's top executive,

was on Capitol Hill getting a grilling from members of Congress. Mr. Calhoun, what's your message to passengers concerned about flying on your planes? We fly safe planes. We don't put airplanes in the air that we don't have 100% confidence in. Calhoun's comment comes just one day after the CEO of Alaska Airlines told our Tom Costello that he was angry with Boeing and its leadership team. This after a door plug on a Boeing-built airplane operated by Alaska Airlines exploded out of the aircraft in mid-flight. A problem Ben Minicucci, Alaska's CEO, placed directly on Boeing in our exclusive interview.

There's no doubt that Alaska received an airplane off the production line with a faulty door. Lawmakers are demanding answers. Alaska Senator Dan Sullivan, who represents a state uniquely impacted by the airline, grounding 30 percent of their fleet, said Boeing is taking responsibility for the problem. He does, personally, and assured me that this is the most important issue, which I press him on, safety, safety. And the NTSB is scheduled to continue their inspection at Boeing's manufacturing plant on Friday. Meanwhile, their CEO, David Calhoun, expected to be back here on Capitol Hill

for a public hearing in the near future. Lester. All right, Ryan Nobles tonight. Thank you. Thirty three million people are under flood alerts this evening as much of the South continues to get pounded by heavy rains with up to five inches more possible. Flooding was a big problem today near Baton Rouge and New Orleans and southeast Texas. Schools were closed, motorists were stranded and even a police car got caught in the high water in Texas. The day after the New Hampshire primary, it's game still on for Donald Trump and Nikki Haley tonight in the race for the GOP nomination, despite Mr. Trump's back-to-back wins over Haley in Iowa and last night in New Hampshire. Hallie Jackson is in South Carolina tonight. The primary prolonged tonight, even after former President Trump's decisive double-digit win in New Hampshire. Thank you, everybody. Thank you. Whoa.

He's making history as the only Republican in a competitive primary to ever win both Iowa and New Hampshire. Still, at his rally, not a celebration, but a condemnation after former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley pledged to stay in this race. We're the last one standing next to Donald Trump. This is not your typical victory speech, but let's not have somebody take a victory when she had a very bad night. Who the hell was the imposter that went up on the stage before and like claimed a victory? Mr. Trump letting loose a barrage of insults, a preview of attacks Haley's expected to face from her former boss.

When I watched her in the fancy dress that probably wasn't so fancy, just a little note to Nikki, she's not going to win. Haley now focusing on her home state of South Carolina. This race is far from over. Her campaign already spending a million dollars on ads there with two new ones out today. Same old Biden and Trump or new conservative leadership. The former South Carolina governor making the case she's better suited to take on President Biden come November. The worst kept secret in politics is how badly the Democrats want to run against Donald Trump.

Still, after clear losses in the first two primary contests, including in New Hampshire, where she was backed by independents, Haley faces an uphill climb here in more conservative South Carolina. The state's governor and both senators have endorsed Mr. Trump as Haley faces new pressure to step aside. The sooner we can get behind Trump, the better for the 2024 cycle. What do you want to see in this race over the next month in South Carolina? I would like to see Nikki drop out and throw her support to Trump. Haley's the only hope if we have any respect for the actual GOP, for the Republican Party. Haley's team is looking ahead to Super Tuesday states in early March,

but a loss here first in South Carolina a month from now could be devastating. Lester. All right, Hallie, thank you. And for his part, President Biden saying he now expects a rematch with former President Trump and picking up the endorsement of the United Auto Workers Union. Here's Kelly O'Donnell. Hitting the accelerator to the campaign's next phase, general election season, after the Biden campaign declared that former President Trump has all but locked up the GOP nomination.

Today, the United Auto Workers Convention welcomed President Biden. It's great to be home. Many of these blue-collar workers live in critical Midwest battlegrounds, a repeat test of Donald Trump's appeal to the working class and President Biden's history backing labor. He's been there for us. He's shown it. The UAW praised Mr. Biden as the first sitting president to stand with workers on strike and endorsed his reelection. I want to pick a line. Donald Trump went to a non-union shop and attacked you. Amid chants of support, for a second straight day on the trail, the president was interrupted by protesters,

waving a Palestinian flag and calling for a ceasefire in Gaza. UAW! UAW! waving a Palestinian flag and calling for a ceasefire in Gaza. That tension over foreign policy on top of some bleak polling. In our latest NBC News poll, President Biden's approval rating is just 40 percent. Disapproval at 57 percent. Today, some union supporters who fully backed the president also expressed worry. He does have a problem with younger voters, but those of us in labor, we pay attention. The president heads to Wisconsin tomorrow and then campaigns in South Carolina this weekend, ahead of the Democratic Party's first primary of this cycle to award delegates. Lester. Kelly O'Donnell, thank you. In Russia,

a deepening mystery. What caused a Russian transport plane to crash, killing everyone on board? Molly Hunter is following this. Molly, what do we know about this case? Lester, a major accusation from Russia and one with very little evidence. This video, verified by NBC News, shows a massive fireball geolocated to Russia's western Belgorod region. The Russian defense ministry says it's a transport plane shot down by Ukrainian air defense missiles, killing everyone on board, providing no evidence Kiev was behind it. The ministry adding it was carrying 65 Ukrainian POWs for a prisoner exchange. NBC News has not independently verified the details of the crash. And Kyiv doesn't deny shooting it down. Ukrainian officials say it's possible it was planned and

deliberate by Russia. Speaking tonight, President Zelensky says we have to establish all of the facts and says Ukraine will ask for an international investigation. Lester. Molly Hunter, thanks. And tonight, the horror of war and a remarkable story of survival involving two sisters in Gaza we've been following for months. Richard Engel tonight on the chance meeting that allowed them to find safety out of a war zone. Moments after an Israeli airstrike on an apartment building in southern Gaza, our camera crew first saw 14-year-old Miral Nijm trapped under a building. It was late October, and the Israeli military was bombing heavily in its reprisal campaign for Hamas's massacre in Israel. First responders and bystanders managed to pry Miral free, alive.

But with the celebration came heartbreaking news. Miral's mother, Mayada, and siblings, Maria and Ahmed, had been killed. We reported as Miral was treated at a nearby hospital, along with her nine-year-old sister, Mira. Her leg was snapped in two, and Mira's surgery was a failure. Soon, she was dying from infection. Then the Nijims believe a miracle happened. In a chance encounter, a visiting Turkish delegation approved Mira for travel to Turkey

for treatment. Very few Gazans are allowed out and foreign journalists aren't allowed in. So we traveled to Turkey as well. And I was finally able to meet the Nijms at a pastry shop. Turkey also allowed in Mira's father, Mahdi, and Miral. They were all dazzled by the choices after nearly starving in Gaza. Could we order some cakes? This one here. This one here. One of here, one of that, one of these, please. In a quiet place in the back, they told me how to escape the war.

They moved seven times in Gaza and there's nothing left to go back to. I want to return to school. Of course, all the schools in Gaza are closed. They were all destroyed, she says. They kept moving until on October 26th at 11 a.m., the fourth floor apartment where they were sheltering with 12 other people suddenly turned to smoke and crumbled. It was like I was in an elevator going down, Miral says. The whole house fell on me and I couldn't move. Mira may need more surgeries.

Her leg still hasn't healed and there's a lot she wants to do. I want to go to school to study, to write. I have a lot of things I want to write, she says. After a few bites of cake, she's had enough. Mahdi was stressed. His family photos have become his most treasured possessions. When he tries to talk about his late wife and children, he can't. What did these kids do to deserve this, he asks. The Nijims don't know how long they can stay here in Turkey.

The Turkish government plans to bring in thousands of wounded Palestinians and says it won't turn its back on them. But the family's hope is to get to the U.S. Lester. Richard, thanks for keeping us updated with him. In 60 seconds, the manhunt in Arkansas for two escaped inmates, one of them a murder suspect and a political firestorm. The head of the Republican Party in Arizona resigns after he is heard on tape allegedly trying to bribe a Senate candidate

and Trump ally if she didn't run. Our original reporting right after this. In Arkansas, a statewide manhunt is underway for two inmates who escaped from a jail in Pine Bluffs, Arkansas. Authorities say they're investigating how Jetonia Bryant, a Capitol murder suspect, and Noah Rausch, charged with burglary, escaped undetected. Authorities have issued warnings to residents about the fugitives. In Arizona, the head of the state Republican Party resigned today after the release of an audio tape of a potentially incriminating conversation he had with a U.S. Senate candidate. Von Hilliard has details. Tonight, the leader of Arizona's Republican Party resigning after a stunning new audio tape appeared to show him trying to convince a close Trump ally not to run for office.

The Arizona GOP's chairman, Jeff DeWitt, heard in this audio urging Carrie Lake to not run for the U.S. Senate this year after she lost her race for governor there in 2022. Our very powerful people want to keep you out. In exchange, DeWitt says he could hook her up with a lucrative job. So the ask I got today from back east was, is there any companies out there or something that could just put her on the payroll and give her to keep her out? DeWitt says the audio was selectively edited. Is there a number at which I can be bought? That's what it's about. You can take a pause for a couple years. Because Carrie

Lake is not a public official, she is simply being asked to withdraw from politics. It doesn't fall under the language of the bribery statute. Lake, who often wears a mic, decided to run anyway. After the audio was made public on Tuesday, Lake calling on DeWitt to resign. DeWitt says Lake's team threatened to release a new, more damaging recording if he didn't resign. Reached by phone tonight, DeWitt told NBC News that he was blown away by her recording their private conversations. Lake's campaign denies it blackmailed DeWitt. If Lake were to win the Republican primary, she would be expected to face independent Senator Kyrsten Sinema and

Democratic Congressman Ruben Gallego in a three-person race. Vaughn Hilliard, NBC News. Up next for us tonight, the big recall of one of America's most popular SUVs and the new security feature to protect your data if your iPhone is stolen. A consumer alert to tell you about tonight. Ford is recalling nearly two million of its popular Explorer SUVs to fix trim pieces that could fly off and cause a danger to other drivers. The recall covers Explorer models from 2011 to 2019. And Apple has rolled out a new safety feature that can help protect your money and photos if your iPhone is stolen. As Stephanie

Goss reports, it comes after a rash of iPhone thefts, all using the same trick to take over your device. A new security setting from Apple tonight, hoping to stop a specific and insidious new iPhone crime. Thieves trick people into exposing their iPhone passcodes, often late at night at bars, then steal their phones. With a passcode, they can change Apple ID passwords and face IDs, so they can take lots and lots of money. I have heard from many victims that they said up to $10,000, $30,000. How many numbers? Six. Wall Street Journal tech reporter Joanna Stern uncovered the crime trend. We revealed that this was happening in multiple cities across the U.S., happening around the world as well, but definitely an uptick in these crimes happening in the U.S., happening around the world as well, but definitely an uptick in these crimes

happening in the U.S. right now. And Apple appears to have taken notice. The new stolen device protection setting restricts access with the phone's passcode, instead requiring face or touch ID for multiple settings, including Apple ID accounts and the iPhone's iCloud keychain, which many people use to store banking passwords. For some settings, when the phone is not in a usual location like home or work, the user will need face or touch ID and then have to wait another hour to use biometrics again before getting access. It is a bit of a hassle, but is it worth it for more protection? If you had heard from as many victims as I had who have lost everything, then you would enable this security feature.

So Stephanie is here. Does this fix the problem? Well, part of it, Lester, iPhone users should still be very protective of that passcode, ideally changing it to numbers and letters. And here's another really important thing. You know, that notes app in your phone, never put usernames and passwords there. Okay. Good advice. Thank you, Stephanie. And up next, Jon Stewart's return to the anchor desk. A familiar face from late night TV is making his return. The Daily Show announcing Jon Stewart is coming back to host on Monday nights

through the 2024 election season. Stewart hosted The Daily Show for 16 years from 1999 to 2015. The show has used a rotating slate of hosts since the departure of Trevor Noah in 2022. And that's nightly news for this Wednesday. Thank you for watching, everyone. I'm Lester Holt. Please take care of yourself and each other. Good night.