NBC Nightly News with Tom Llamas - Friday, September 26, 2025

Episode Date: September 27, 2025

Former FBI Director James Comey indicted on two counts; FBI: Gunman sought to unleash "real terror" on ICE during Dallas shooting; No sign of progress as government shutdown deadline looms; and more on tonight’s broadcast. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Breaking news tonight, the state of emergency as a new hurricane threat emerges. The twin systems in the tropics, Umberto, just upgraded to a category three hurricane as Imelda fires up just ahead of it. The tropical cyclone's deadly path through the Caribbean and the latest track just in that has it going closer to the Carolinas, the governor of South Carolina, saying they're preparing for widespread flooding. Plus, the dangerous weather in the southwest. Rising floodwaters and relentless hail in Phoenix delaying hundreds of flights tonight. Also breaking former FBI director James Comey indicted as President Trump threatens more indictments against others. We'll take you inside the grand jury room and the case being run by a U.S. attorney with no prosecution experience. My sit down with the president of Iran, we ask him about new satellite photos, alleging a new

secret nuclear site being built. And why he says, quote, we're not afraid of war, but we do not seek war. Clashes over ICE detentions, this violent video of an ICE officer throwing a woman to the ground in New York, now officials calling it unacceptable. Plus, the Des Moines School Superintendent, just arrested by ICE. What happened? Our NBC News exclusive, the U.S. preparing options for military strikes on drug targets inside of Venezuela. The stations refusing to Jimmy Kimmel tonight saying he's back on, why the standoff is finally over. And the flu fighter, how a battle that nearly cost one little boy his life, is leaping off the pages of a new comic book and inspiring hundreds of his classmates.

Nightly News starts right now. This is NBC Nightly News with Tom Yamas. And good evening. We are watching the tropics very closely tonight as a deadly storm hits the Caribbean on its way to the east coast. The potential tropical cyclone poised to become Imelda and now South Carolina's governor declaring a state of emergency. In the Dominican Republic, a truck driver was killed when a bridge collapsed under heavy rains, complicating the picture, the strengthening of Hurricane Umberto, which could alter

Imelda's course as well. And elsewhere on the radar, take a look at this flash flooding and dangerous hail, smashing the Phoenix area. Bill Cairns is here keeping an eye on all of it tonight. How's it looking back in the Atlantic there, Bill? Very active, and the interaction of these two storms is going to be key. People in the Carolina need to prepare for a heavy rain event and the possibility of a hurricane come Monday to Tuesday.

But it's far from guaranteed. The storm hasn't even formed yet. It's going to be heading up through the Bahamas as we go throughout this upcoming weekend. Should become tropical storm melded by the time we get to Sunday afternoon, Sunday evening. The Hurricane Center even says that day four and five, these positions just off of Charleston, it's very uncertain where the storm is going to be at that point. And here's the reason why. If it moves faster, it could be out ahead of Umberto and not be influenced.

But if it's slower, Umberto at his closest point could pull it back out to sea. This is going to still be a very difficult forecast all the way up until landfall. Yeah, we'll keep our eyes on it. Right, Bill. We thank you for that. Now to the criminal charges that rock the political world last night. President Trump today celebrating the indictment of his former FBI director, James Comey, and suggesting there are more political prosecutions to come while Comey insists he's innocent.

Here's Laura Jared. Facing accusations he's carrying out a retaliation campaign after a federal grand jury indicted former FBI director James Comey, President Trump today, digging in. It's about justice, really. It's not revenge. You can't let this go on. He's a dirty cop. The president also suggesting the Justice Department's work may not be over when asked who's next on his list of targets for prosecution. It's not a list, but I think there'll be others. These were corrupt, radical left Democrats. They'll be others. Look, it was, that's my opinion.

Today, top Justice Department officials publicly defending the Comey indictment. The FBI didn't just make up this charge. This is very serious conduct, and that's why we, that's why we investigated it. The former FBI director maintaining his innocence, now facing criminal charges, notably not related to the FBI's controversial opening of an investigation into the Trump campaign, dealings with Russia ahead of the 2016 election, the issue that has long defined his fraught relationship with the president and led to his abrupt firing. I was going to fire Comey, knowing there was no good time to do it.

I said to myself, I said, you know, this Russia thing with Trump and Russia is a made-up story. Instead, Comey indicted on two counts, obstruction and lying to Congress, for allegedly authorizing a leak to the press about the Clinton-founded. years earlier. The grand jury failing to indict him on an additional charge of lying to Congress. My family and I have known for years that there are costs to standing up to Donald Trump. We will not live on our knees, and you shouldn't either. And I'm innocent. So let's have a trial. The indictment bare bones and soon likely tested in court, a source familiar with the grand jury proceedings telling NBC News interim U.S. Attorney Lindsey Halligan, Trump's one-time personal

attorney presented the Comey case herself Thursday, a rare move for a U.S. attorney, especially one with no experience as a prosecutor. But the president's own words could pose a significant obstacle to the case. His lengthy record of name calling and accusations against Comey, now potential fodder for Comey's defense. All right, Laura Jarrett joins us now live in studio, Solora. When will we first see Comey as a defendant in court? He's supposed to make his first appearance in court on October 9th, And that sets an important clock in motion. He is actually entitled to go to trial within 70 days. Now, that's something rarely actually invoked.

But here, it might make strategic sense if he thinks the case is weak. It's happening fast. All right, Laura, we thank you. That are new flashpoints over President Trump's crackdown on illegal immigration, including new video of a tense confrontation involving a mother and an ICE officer in Manhattan. Here's Priscilla Thompson. The confrontation happening inside a Manhattan immigration facility. where ICE agents move in to detain a man after an asylum hearing.

Later, his wife, Monica Moretta, telling an ICE agent her hair had been pulled. The agent then lashing out, slamming her into a wall before shoving her to the ground. Moreta, who is from Ecuador telling Telemundo, I've lived like this back in my country, she said. Coming here to the United States, I thought I'd feel protected. DHS says the agent has been relieved of his. duties, saying his conduct in the video is unacceptable. Another tense moment in Maryland, and arrests in the middle of the street. At one point, the ICE officer's weapon falling to the ground.

Tonight, DHS says the suspect illegally entered the U.S. from El Salvador and has multiple previous arrests, including first and second degree assault. And in Des Moines, Iowa, the school superintendent Ian Roberts now detained. There is much we do not know. However, what we do know is that Dr. Roberts has been an integral part of our school community since he joined over two years ago. DHS tells us Roberts has a final order of removal and a prior weapons charge. All as we're now learning new details about the shooting in Dallas where authorities say

a gunman targeted ICE agents. This video shows ICE agents rushing towards vans to rescue detainees under fire. And as for that incident in Manhattan, ICE says that they arrested Moretta's husband. been because he was undocumented and had a previous arrest for assault. Tom? All right, Priscilla Thompson for us. Turning now to a major development on that shooting here in Midtown Manhattan back in July, the medical examiner today, releasing the results of an autopsy of the suspect who police say killed four people at NFL headquarters. Aaron McLaughlin joins us now, and Aaron, the suspect claimed he had CTE, did he? Yes, Tom. The autopsy showed the suspect, Shane Devin

Tamora, did have CTE, a degenerative brain disease commonly associated with repeat repeated head trauma from contact sports. It can only be diagnosed after death. Tomorrow had played football back in high school. The medical examiner says it found unambiguous diagnostic evidence corresponding with low-stage CTE. Authorities had found a three-page suicide note in Tamora's wallet asking for his brain to be studied for CTE. They believe he'd been targeting the NFL headquarters in that Midtown building. CTE experts are calling the autopsy results a wake-up call. All right, Aaron, we thank you for that. NADOR exclusive reporting about the escalating tensions between the U.S. and Venezuela.

After striking alleged drug cartel boats, now the U.S. could be planning strikes inside that country. Gabe Gutierrez is at the White House live for us tonight. And Gabe, what have you learned? Hi, Tom. NBC News has learned that U.S. military officials are drawing up options to target drug traffickers inside Venezuela, possibly in a matter of weeks. That's according to two U.S. officials familiar with the planning and two other sources. sources familiar with the discussions. The sources say the president has not approved any of the plans yet, which include drone strikes targeting drug labs. The Trump administration says

it's blown up boats near Venezuela that were used by drug traffickers, but the Venezuelan government has denied it, and the country's leader, Nicolas Maduro, says the U.S. wants to force him from power. A senior administration official says Middle Eastern allies have served as intermediaries in talks with Venezuela. Tom? All right, Kay Buteers, with that new report. important, Gabe. We thank you. Now to our interview with the Iranian president coming at a critical time, as he's here for high-stakes meetings at the UN and just after those U.S. strikes on Iran's nuclear facilities. This is a portion of our interview conducted with a government translator. NBC News, though, did review the translation independently.

Tonight, the new allegation, just three months after those massive American strikes on Iran's underground nuclear facilities, Iran already building another secret secret. inside, inside a mountain. There is this new report in the Washington Post. It shows a satellite image. This is the pickax mountain. And it's alleging that right now Iran is building yet another secret nuclear facility. What do you say to this?

If they are really telling the truth, we have come to an agreement most recently with the IAEA, they can come and inspect on the ground to put something out based on. purported satellite photography, it's not pertinent. We are not seeking nuclear weapons. That U.S. strike came after Israel hit Iran first. And today, at the UN, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, facing a walkout by several countries as he spoke, calling a potential Palestinian state insane. Giving the Palestinians a state one mile from Jerusalem after October 7th is like giving al-Qaeda state one mile from New York City after September 11th. This is sheer madness. With Israel showing no signs of slowing down in Gaza, does the Iranian president worry

they are still a target by Israel or the U.S. Is Iran preparing for more war? We have never started a war. We will never be starting any wars, but whomever attacks us, we will do our utmost to give them the strongest answer. We also press the Iranian president about reports of that missing uranium, by some estimates, capable of fueling up to 10 atomic bombs. Where exactly is that roughly 900 pounds of enriched uranium right now that is publicly unaccounted for? That's not very difficult.

With the IAEA, the inspectors can come and conduct the needed inspections and inspect the targeted sites and verify anything that needs to be verified. President Trump says, why are you seeking nuclear power if you're sitting on all that oil? They're sitting on a top of one of the largest piles of oil in the world. I just don't know why they need that for civilian work. What do you say to that? But you see, nuclear energy. is not just

for nuclear weapons a lot of diagnostic tools and imaging tools in medicine, which is my professional field, we do need nuclear energy in various industry, industrial sectors, we need access

in the agricultural sector, we need access to this technology and science. The way we are sitting right now, would you sit across from President Trump like this to negotiate to talk to him? Well, you see, the challenge is not really sitting down and talking in person.

President Trump says Iran must not reach nuclear weapon capability. We are certainly ready. We fully agree. We do not wish to reach such an objective. Let's tear down the wall of mistrust and distrust so that we can establish that our interlocutor is being sincere. So you would publicly state you are going to have been. any type of further enriching of the uranium, any sort of march towards a nuclear weapon to meet with the United States.

We will certainly do that because it has been our intention all along. What our intention hasn't been is to pursue nuclear weapons. In the spirit of diplomacy, is there any message you have for Benjamin Netanyahu? Netanyahu doesn't need a message in the eyes of the world. the eyes of the international criminal court, he has been condemned for his comportment and crimes. We also asked him about alarming reports inside of Iran about mass arrests. Some have said there were up to 21,000 people arrested in Iran after the bombings. What do you say to that allegation?

I don't have off the top of my head a specific number because that's the judiciary in charge of these such matters. foreign enemy perhaps has succeeded in fooling certain internal entities with monetary prizes, if you will, incentives of different types. But to speak of numbers of 21,000 or 25,000, I highly doubted that that's an accurate number. And you can see much more of our interview and the complete interview at NBCNews.com right now. In 60 seconds, why a group of high school parents are outraged tonight. After they said their daughters were forced to crawl on a track in the scorching heat for their dance team, the burns that sent one girl to the hospital. Stay with us.

In Indiana tonight, parents are outraged after they say an exercise for a high school dance team left their daughters with severe burns and hospitalized. Maggie Vespa has more, including what the team coach apparently said about the team. These photos show the second degree burns that Travis P. Egller says left his 14. year old daughter hospitalized after a high school dance coach ordered her to do bear crawls walking on her hands and feet around a scorching track. It's child abuse. You think it's child abuse? Absolutely.

The Indianapolis dad and his wife, Stacey, telling NBC News, it happened at last week's Warren Central High School majorettes practice. The high that day, 89 degrees. I just couldn't imagine. I'm like, why would she think that was okay to do? The family says the coach later sent parents this message. saying your dancer may come home with some blisters on their hands, writing, I am so proud of their effort and determination,

then sending tips on caring for blisters and apologizing, adding, please know, it was never my intention for them to experience pain. The coach, not responding to NBC's request for comment. NBC News spoke with a second mother who says her daughter was also injured and sent these photos. The school district telling us it is treating the matter with the utmost care and that the safety and well-being of its student athletes is its top priority. The family showing us this email, which the district would not comment on, from the school's principals, saying once we're able to confirm a new coach or sponsor,

we will share updated information right away. These are girls. They're not Army Rangers, Navy SEALs. They're not a football team. They're not. None of that. This is dance. Maggie Vespa, NBC News. When we continue, Jimmy Kimmel said to return tonight to dozens more states, all over the country after he was taken off the air. We'll explain inside the battle. We're back now with Jimmy Kimmel, back on the air at more stations. The media company,

Sinclair and Next Star, which both owned dozens of local stations across the country, saying today they will bring back Jimmy Kimmel live this evening on its ABC affiliates. It comes after Kimmel returned on ABC's air earlier this week after he was preempted over comments he made about Charlie Kirk's suspected killer. Oversee some pretty remarkable videos. of people in Macau, China, catching fish in flooded streets after Super Typhoon Raghasa. And they got some big ones. Take a look at this. Raghasa was one of the most powerful storms of the year, evacuating millions of people across

Taiwan, Hong Kong, and southern China. And in the sports world, the MLB says, Shohei Otani now has the most popular player jersey for the third season in a row. He's now the fourth major leaguer to have the most popular jersey in baseball for three seasons joining Aaron Judge, Mookie Betz, and Derek Jeter. It comes after he matched his career high with his 54th home run of the season. When we come back, there's good news tonight about this little boy who became a real-life comic book superhero and the villain he's taking a task. That's next. We end the week with the superhero's journey, not a new blockbuster opening

this weekend, but a real nine-year-old boy with an unforgettable origin story. Here's Liz Kreutz. In Grand Blanc, Michigan, a superhero welcome. Nine-year-old Caden Stevenson greeted with cheers from hundreds of his classmates, rooting him on as Caden Blaze, a comic book superhero whose power is fighting the flu. The book, inspired by Caden's own battle with the virus. When he was seven, his mother, Michelle, says he began not feeling well, and his condition quickly deteriorated. He was in multi-organ failure, so kidney, liver, and heart failure. Kaden ended up having both of his legs amputated because of sepsis, but he survived and with a mission.

The same time that Kaden was in the hospital, there was another little boy there, and he ended up passing away. Once Kaden got, you know, better, he told me he wanted to survive. for that five-year-old boy. In the comic book, published by the nonprofit families fighting flu, Kaden transforms into Kaden Blaze, who bravely flies around the city distributing vaccines while fighting the evil flu virus. His mom says his bravery on page isn't even close to real life.

Oh, goodness. I'm so proud of my boy. I know he acts shy and modest, but he really is a superhero. I think so. Yeah, you think so? Yeah. Back at school, with his gloves and his glasses, Caden proving you're never too young to make a difference. Liz Croyce, NBC News. Caden Blaze to the Rescue.

That's nightly news for this Friday. I'm Tom Yamas. Thanks so much for watching. Tonight and always, we're here for you. Good night.