NBC Nightly News with Tom Llamas - Wednesday, March 27, 2024

Episode Date: March 28, 2024

Bodies of two missing workers recovered after Baltimore bridge collapse; Joe Lieberman, former Connecticut senator and vice-presidential candidate, is dead; Women's March Madness team faced racial threats; and more on tonight’s broadcast.

Tonight, the grim discovery in the search for answers after that catastrophic bridge collapse in Baltimore. Officials just moments ago announcing two bodies have been recovered after that massive cargo ship rammed into the Francis Scott Key Bridge, bringing it crashing down, our team out on the water, where crews are still searching for at least four other missing, presumed dead, among them a father of six, The NTSB locating the ship's black box, the clues it may hold, our full team coverage tonight. Also this evening, the deadly stabbing rampage in Illinois. At least four people killed at multiple locations, the suspect in

custody. The spring storm threats up and down the East Coast. We're tracking it. Just in, news that former Senator and Vice Presidential nominee Joe Lieberman has died after suffering a fall. What his family is saying tonight. The disturbing incident during March Madness. Racial slurs allegedly hurled at the Utah women's team. Now the FBI prepared to join the investigation. Our team inside the chaos in Haiti. The orphanage where women and

children seek refuge, and our NBC News exclusive reporting. Will the U.S. allow more Haitian immigrants fleeing the violence into the states? What we've learned. This is NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt. Good evening and welcome everyone., officials in Baltimore are sizing up the enormous and urgent tasks ahead following yesterday's cargo ship accident and deadly collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge. Tonight, the nearly 1,000-foot-long container ship remains lodged where it came to a sickening rest early yesterday after losing power and slamming into a bridge pylon. The ship's crew still on board tonight, unhurt. But all of the missing road workers are now presumed dead. Two of their bodies have been recovered. The twisted wreckage of the bridge they worked on still blocking the port of Baltimore. The entire scene obscured today by a gloomy fog.

The low visibility hindering the work of divers looking for victims remains. There are several new developments to report tonight, including what we've learned about the victims. Also, the ship's black box, a critical piece of the investigation, has been retrieved. We have also learned more about the ship's cargo. Tom Yamas starts us off tonight with the very latest. Tonight, what took seconds to come crashing down, now likely to take weeks to investigate. The Key Bridge collapse, still too dangerous in many parts for divers to even enter the water. Debris, sunken cars, containers, and chunks of bridge littering the river floor. Late today, we traveled to what's left of the Francis Scott Key Bridge.

We're just outside the perimeter of the disaster zone, about a quarter mile of where the collapse happened. And at sea level, the first thing you realize is the monstrous size of that cargo vessel. It is so much more massive than the structure of the actual bridge. Officials say the Dali, the ship that struck the bridge, is stable, that it has more than one and a half million gallons of fuel and 56 containers of hazardous material. But the Coast Guard saying it is not a danger. The cruise is cooperating with what we need there. They remain on board. But outside the ship, investigators hitting a snag.

The search and recovery efforts have been hampered by the weather here in Baltimore. There's been a steady rain all day, patchy fog and temperatures in the 40s. But in the water, it's even worse. Everything won't be able to say anything. They're going to work by feel with their hands once we get on a target. Brian Hudson leads the FBI's underwater search and evidence response team. They're using sonar and remote operated vehicles, ROVs, to scan these waters. What have your teams been able to see down there? How bad is it? Some of the debris is still shifting. You're finding mostly a lot of chunks of debris, rocks. We're searching for vehicles, so you're looking for the shape of a vehicle. Some of the missing construction workers were inside their cars at the time of the collapse. You can actually see

their vehicles lights blinking on the bridge just before impact. It's going to be very, very difficult, I think, to find them. Jeffrey Pritzker is an executive with that construction company. He says the entire company is in mourning and still in shock. The message get to your employees that the ship was going to crash into the bridge? Do you know if they realized that? I don't know. I wasn't there. I can only tell you they were right in the middle span of that bridge, right in the center of the middle span. So I doubt if they heard anything, frankly, or knew that it was going to happen. And then what you see on... You're saying they may have been caught completely by surprise? They may have been.

He says one member of their crew miraculously survived and is still unable to speak about what happened. Among those missing, Miguel Luna, a father of six from El Salvador. There he is at a gender reveal party for his grandchild just this month. And Maynor Yassir Swazo Sandoval, his brother, emotional, saying it's not easy seeing the bridge now, knowing that monster of iron is trapping my brother. And Tom, we now have some late news about some of the missing. What can you tell us? Yeah, Lester, this just in. We've just learned divers have now located a red pickup truck submerged in 25 feet of water and recovered two victims who were trapped inside.

Officials also announcing the mission here has changed now for a third time in less than two days. This no longer is a search and recovery mission. It is simply too dangerous to keep trying to find the victims. This is now being called a salvage operation. Lester. All right, Tom Yamaston, I thanks. And more than two dozen NTSB investigators are now assigned to the accident for what will be a long investigation into why this disaster happened.

Tom Costello now on the investigation ahead. While the dolly remains trapped under tons of wreckage from the collapsed bridge, NTSB teams were on board today gathering evidence and identifying key crew members to interview. Already, investigators have downloaded data from the ship's so-called black box, including the ship's speed, position, power, and throttle settings at 1.30 a.m. Tuesday. That will help us enable us to begin to put together a timeline of events that occurred prior to the striking of the bridge. NTSB Chief Hamadi says investigators will also look at whether the ship received contaminated fuel which could have shut down the engines causing it to lose power before crashing into the bridge. Engineering experts

calculate it hit with roughly 30 million pounds of applied force. A bridge like this one, completed in the 1970s, was simply not made to withstand a direct impact on a critical support pier from a vessel that weighs about 200 million pounds. While the Key Bridge was built to 1970s standards, those standards changed after a freighter hit Tampa's Sunshine Skyway Bridge in 1980, killing 35 people. Today, bridge support structures must be protected with barriers, like reinforced islands on Tampa's new Skyway Bridge. If the bridge had been designed to the revised specifications that took into account the ship collision conditions for that bridge, it would not have collapsed.

Nearly a dozen ships are tonight trapped inside the port, even more outside, amid warnings that the supply chain and livelihoods are in jeopardy. We are concerned about the local economic impact with some 8,000 jobs directly associated with port activities. Michael Clark's business receives and empties containers from the port, then ships the freight. Now he's losing business that's going to other ports. Right now we don't have any containers and we can't get any containers. So immediately our business has shut down. And Tom, there's still a lot of urgency there tonight. Maryland authorities, we understand, are already laying out priorities for the port.

Yeah, just a short time ago, Maryland authorities say they're going to quickly start drawing up plans for a new bridge. But their priority now is reopening the waterway into the port. And that will take quite a bit of time, Lester. All right, Tom Costello, thank you. We'll turn now to the breaking news out of northern Illinois tonight. Police saying there has been a deadly stabbing rampage at multiple locations in the city of Rockford. Maggie Vespa is with us. Maggie, what do we know? So, Lester, a grim situation unfolding, as you can imagine, with police talking about one attacker stabbing nine people, killing four of them across multiple crime scenes in Rockford, Illinois. At least one scene,

you can see the video, appears to be in the middle of a neighborhood. It's a massive response from authorities after multiple 911 calls came in starting around 1-15 today. In one case, the sheriff says a woman reported a home invasion and ran from the attacker but sustained stab wounds to her hands and face. We're told city, county and federal authorities are investigating that they have a suspect in custody and they believe that person, a man, worked alone. They're not releasing that man's name at this point. And they say they don't have a clear motive. We are told among the five survivors, one is in critical condition and the rest rest are stable local officials right now calling this a senseless act of violence maggie vespa with that breaking news tonight thank you we're watching some nasty spring weather heavy rain hitting the

east coast through tomorrow 16 million people from florida to maine are under flood watches as much as three inches of rain or more is possible. Heavy rain tomorrow along the East Coast will likely slow travel and has already postponed some MLB opening day games. As the desperation in Haiti grows, the Biden administration is under pressure to act. Alison Barber went into Haiti. And Alison, what are you learning? Lester, tonight we're learning that more than 480 human rights organizations have asked or pushing for a new designation of temporary protected status for Haitians in the United States, as well as a pause on deportations. But despite that growing pressure, three U.S. officials tell NBC News the Biden administration has no plans of changing course.

Violence in Port-au-Prince is relentless. Police and gangs battling it out in the streets of Haiti's capital city as innocent people hide and run for cover. We traveled to the country's north. Where we are, it's more than five hours away by car from Port-au-Prince. Within the gates of Mission Life International's orphanage and birthing center, you don't hear gunfire. You hear children laughing, playing, dreaming. What do you want to be when you grow up?

She says she wants to be a doctor. Outside of the birthing center, mothers are waiting to check in. Sarah-El is just three months old. She's John's fourth child, the first girl. Do they like, the brothers like having a sister? A lot. She tells us she's a nurse, but she doesn't have a job right now. She has a pharmacy, but these days doesn't sell much, and supplies are hard to come by. You can see they have stuff here, but it is a bit sparse. That is in part because most of the ports in this country are currently controlled by gangs. And that means getting aid in to people who need it the most,

medical supplies to places like this. It's very difficult. For all of the families here, finding clean drinking water or affordable food is a Herculean feat. Have you had any moments where you've worried that you might not be able to keep your kids safe? Every day, she tells me, every day we pray God will keep us safe. A Haiti can be fixed by Haitians. They say they do not want to live in a Haiti like this. We need help.

They want some help from the international community to reestablish security. But ultimately, they tell us true change will come from Haitians. We don't like people to give us fish. Teach us how to fish, Jean tells me. Because Haitians are able to do it themselves. Ellison Barber, NBC News. And just in tonight, the sad news that former Connecticut Senator and Vice Presidential candidate Joe Lieberman has died at age 82.

Here's Kelly O'Donnell. Devoted to public service and his deep personal faith, Joseph Lieberman was a four-term U.S. senator from Connecticut and a man of history as the first Jewish American on a presidential ticket, Al Gore's running mate in 2000. Tonight I am so proud to stand as your candidate for vice president of the United States. Senator Lieberman died this afternoon in New York. A statement from his family said his passing followed complications from a fall. A hawk on defense, his support of the Iraq war cost him among Democrats. Lieberman became an independent, later a founder of the No Labels organization, and his friendship with John McCain was part of his break with the Democratic Party. I'm here to support John McCain because country matters more than party.

An Orthodox Jew, Lieberman often walked to critical votes in the Senate, moved by faith and a desire for common ground. Kelly O'Donnell reporting. In just 60 seconds, the FBI prepared to investigate after a women's basketball team faced racial threats during the NCAA tournament. What we're learning next. We're back with outrage over an incident of racism aimed at a team playing in the women's March Madness tournament. Dana Griffin reports. Racism is real, and it happens, and it's awful.

What was supposed to be a thrilling start to the NCAA tournament turned a shocking racist experience for the Utah women's basketball team Thursday as they walked from their hotel to a nearby restaurant. The vehicle drove by and several racial slurs were yelled by the occupants of the vehicles. The team, made up of black, white, and Latina athletes, was staying in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, 35 minutes from the Spokane Washington Arena. Surveillance video shows the team inside the restaurant and later leaving, but not the actual incident. After dinner, it happened again. According to the police report, the drivers of two trucks revved their engines and yelled the N-word. Coach Lynn Roberts addressed the incident Monday night following their loss to Gonzaga.

For our players and staff to not feel safe in an NCAA tournament environment, it's messed up. The NCAA and Gonzaga helped the team move to a new hotel as a safety precaution. The FBI says they are prepared to investigate. To the young women who endured racial slurs while visiting, I offer my most sincere apology. A press conference Monday to denounce the hate cut short. You're out of order. After a man the mayor described as a known white supremacist interrupted. This press conference is ended. The area has a long history of racial conflict. The latest a new stain many locals want no part of. It is not who we are. It's not what we want to represent. Dana Griffin, NBC News. Up next, the fight over

affordable housing. We go to a town where not even the doctors can afford a home. New York City has approved the nation's first congestion pricing program. The controversial plan would charge cars $15 to drive into the heart of Manhattan, while trucks could be charged between $24 and $36. Officials say it's aimed at reducing traffic and pollution and could take effect as early as June. Now to our series, Priced Out. And the ski resort city where so many people with good jobs say they've been locked out of the housing market. So the city took a vote on whether to make a big change. Shannon Pettypiece has the results. I know we're a little overbooked today. Sanai Sturm, a cancer nurse in Steamboat Springs, Colorado,

has spent more than three years in housing limbo. How many offers have you put in total? About a dozen. And how many of those have you gotten? None. As remote workers and second home buyers flocked to resort communities since the start of the pandemic, realtors here say home prices have nearly doubled, averaging $1.8 million for a typical three-bedroom house. You can't afford a house here. Yeah, we have two great incomes, good jobs, very happy in our careers. I think we're well compensated, but you just can't. City officials say they are at a housing breaking point where everyone from hourly

workers to high paid professionals are struggling to afford a place to live. Finding a solution, though, is dividing residents of this small town. We are building a slum. Sounds great, but we're putting all the poor people on one side of town. If we want a diverse, functional city where the people who work here can live here, we need to take action on affordable housing now. Emotions ran high at a city council meeting debating a proposal to build more than 2,000 apartments and single-family homes on a ranch bought by the city's housing authority. The homes would be prioritized for local workers with restrictions on rent and sale prices.

Who do you envision living there? Essentially every spectrum of our workforce. Jason Peasley heads the local housing authority. He says there's a lot more on the line than just affordability. I think we'll continue to see a hollowing out of our middle class, and the housing problem will continue to exacerbate the employment problems that we have, where businesses are restraining their growth, unable to attract and retain employees, and we'll see our economy stall out. But longtime residents like Jim Engelken say the proposed solution would create problems of its own. It's an overreach. It is way beyond the scale of what this town at 13,000 people can absorb. We've got one road into town, one road out of town.

You feel like it's just too big? It's just too big. The majority of voters in Steamboat Springs appear to agree. This week, early results showing them voting down the project, leaving those caught in the middle still searching for a place to call home. Shannon Pettypiece, NBC News, Steamboat Springs, Colorado. 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.